The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection is moving some of its employees from Washington, D.C., to a new satellite office it plans to open in Atlanta, according to a published report.
The move is a cost-savings measure, according to the report. Mick Mulvaney, the acting director of the BCFP, has hinted and shared his vision for moving employees out of Washington, and possibly the entire bureau itself.
A new office in Atlanta will house analysts and managers that work with agency examiners who are assigned to institutions in the Southeastern United States. The Atlanta office would be in a building that is owned by the General Services Administration. Moving the employees will take between nine and 15 months, according to the report. The team that covers the Southeast has been based out of Washington, D.C., since the agency was created in 2011.
The BCFP confirmed the plans, saying the move will “align the Bureau with its regulatory partners that already have a regional presence in Atlanta,” such as the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Along with its headquarters in Washington, the BCFP has offices in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco.
Critics of the move hinted that the relocations are an attempt by Mulvaney to reduce the number of employees at the agency through attrition.
Mulvaney remains the acting director of the agency while awaiting confirmation by the Senate of the nomination of Kathy Kraninger to be the agency’s next permanent director. If Kraninger is not confirmed before the current Congressional session ends, she will have to be re-nominated by President Trump and go through the confirmation process again, while Mulvaney would be allowed to remain as acting director.
