Amid speculation about gubernatorial aspirations, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has revealed plans to leave the regulator.
Before becoming the first director of the bureau during the Obama administration in 2012, Richard A. Cordray was director of enforcement, where he began his CFPB career in June 2011.
Prior to joining the federal payroll, Cordray was on the Ohio state payroll as attorney general, a position he held started in 2009 and left in 2011 after losing his bid for re-election.
It was during this period that Mortgage Daily ranked Ohio worst for mortgage investors due to legislative and other government actions taken to hinder the foreclosure process.
His initial 2012 recess appointment to the director’s role by President Obama was controversial, but Cordray was eventually confirmed in 2013.
During his time overseeing the agency, $12 billion has reportedly been recovered on behalf of consumers.
Cordray has made numerous trips to Capitol Hill to endure predictably contentious statements by GOP lawmakers and supportive statements by Democratic legislators.
But Cordray’s time as CFPB director has come to an end.
On
Wednesday, he sent an email to CFPB staff indicating he expects to step down by the end of this month.
Cordray’s planned departure comes as published reports suggest he intends to run for Ohio governor.
“It has been a joy of my life to have the opportunity to serve our country as the first director of the Consumer Bureau by working alongside all of you here,” the message stated. “Together we have made a real and lasting difference that has improved people’s lives.”
He highlighted how the CFPB created new ways to present financial education to the public — enabling consumers to take more control of their economic lives.
Cordray noted that the bureau is more than its director. While the new administration will bring in its own director, Cordray said he believes the agency will maintain its essential value to the American public and trusts that new leadership will preserve that value — though possibly in different ways.
Mortgage Bankers Association President and Chief Executive Officer David H. Stevens weighed in on the director’s upcoming exit.
“He came into the position during a tumultuous time and was successful in solidifying the role the bureau plays in protecting consumers,” Stevens said in a written statement. “As we now pivot to the nomination of a new director, it will be imperative that someone is chosen who can provide a balance between the rulemaking process and the need for clarity and consistency in the direction and guidance given to lenders across the country.”
Joseph Lynyak III,
a partner at Dorsey & Whitney LLP, noted in a written statement that the move opens the door for “the administration to appoint an individual who can balance the needs of consumers with those of the industry through competent management.”
Lynyak pondered
whether the director’s decision will lead to a dismissal of PHH Corp.’s lawsuit against the CFPB as a result of the case being moot as to the constitutional questions.
In response to Cordray’s disclosure, the
National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions — which opposed CFPB authority over credit unions — issued a statement saying credit unions should never have been lumped into the same regulatory bucket as big banks.
