At last: Richard Cordray confirmed as head of federal consumer financial agency

One of the few things that the Obama administration has
accomplished for consumers following the Great Recession is the creation of the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Elizabeth Warren, the acting head of the new agency, wasn’t
appointed to be the permanent director due to opposition from Wall Street and
the big banks. Fortunately, Warren was elected to the U.S. Senate and is making
a significant contribution to consumer financial issues in that role.

After being nominated to head the bureau in 2011 by
President Obama, Richard Cordray, a former Ohio attorney general who was head
of the bureau’s enforcement division under Warren, was finally approved by
Congress Wednesday to be the agency’s director.

The Consumer Federation of America applauds Cordray confirmation. The vote ends two years of stalling and uncertainty surrounding a confirmed bureau
director, the federation said.

With the vote, the Senate prioritized the interests of consumers, said
Rachel Weintraub, legislative director and senior counsel for the federation.

“Consumers need a confirmed director at CFPB to make sure that the bureau’s
work to date is not compromised and to ensure that consumers can make decisions
about their financial future knowing that consistent and predictable safeguards
are in place,” Weintraub said.

The bureau is charged with ensuring that consumers are protected from
financial abuses and that financial institutions offer safe products and
services.