The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Friday announced two hires who will lead what many consider to be the most important departments within the agency — supervision and enforcement. The individual hired to run the CFPB’s enforcement operation had been previously mentioned, but the individual hired to run its supervision operation may have caught some by surprise.
It had previously been published that Eric Halperin was going to join the CFPB to be its Assistant Director for the Office of Enforcement. Halperin previously was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General overseeing its fair housing, fair lending, and employment enforcement programs. He left the Department of Justice to run the Civil Rights Corps, a legal defense non-profit group. While at the Department of Justice, Halperin received the department’s highest award for excellence in legal performance as well as the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award.
Joining Halperin in the new employee training program at the CFPB is Lorelei Salas, who was hired to be the Assistant Director for Supervision Policy and who will also serve as Acting Assistant Director for Supervision Examinations. People living in and around New York City might recognize Salas’s name, since she has spent the past five years serving as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. It was that office that issued a rule back in 2020 that requires collection agencies to inform individuals if they offer translation or services in languages other than English.
Salas has also worked in the Department of Labor during the Obama administration, the New York State Attorney General’s office, and several consumer advocacy groups.
“Lorelei Salas and Eric Halperin are both distinguished public servants with deep expertise in consumer protection,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra, in a statement. “Together, they will be effective watchdogs over the financial marketplace, especially when it comes to stopping repeat offenders.”
