Richard Cordray, the former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, downplayed reports of the agency’s demise during a speech yesterday at an event organized by the Consumer Federation of America, characterizing that feeling as being “overstated.”
Cordray, who resigned from the CFPB in November 2017 to launch an unsuccessful run to be governor of Ohio, is still lauded among consumer advocates for his efforts to regulate the financial services industry through aggressive enforcement actions.
Saying that the CFPB continues to “function as intended” during his speech yesterday, Cordray acknowledged that the political nature of who is running the CFPB would likely lead to “ebbs and flows” in regulatory oversight and enforcement activity.
The remarks from Cordray yesterday were less harsh than the comments he had shortly after he resigned from the CFPB, where he accused the agency of shifting its focus away from protecting consumers and toward looking out for the interests of the companies regulated by the agency.
Cordray did have some harsh words for current CFPB Director Kathleen Kraninger and the agency’s attempts to “gut regulation” of the payday lending industry, and called on states to pick up the slack in regulating that industry, according to a published report. Cordray was participating in the CFA’s 32nd annual Financial Services Conference in Washington, D.C., which ends today.
It does not appear as though Cordray mentioned anything about the debt collection industry during his remarks, according to several articles that recounted his speech.
Cordray is working on a book about his time running the CFPB and in public service. Called “Watchdog,” the book is due to be released in February. Prior to running the CFPB, Cordray was state Treasurer and Attorney General of Ohio.
