Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra yesterday appeared to be unswayed by accusations from Senate Republicans that the Bureau is not staying in its lane, saying that the CFPB will “keep doing our work, regardless of the false accusations that are made about our staff.”
Chopra spoke virtually at an event celebrating the 50th anniversary of Public Citizen, a nonprofit organization.
Chopra did acknowledge the letter in his remarks, saying he was committed to trying to find bipartisan support for the Bureau’s prerogatives, including the regulation of big technology companies.
Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee this week sent Chopra a letter, accusing him and the CFPB of engaging in “inappropriate tactics” and not “staying within the boundaries of the law.”
Why This Matters: Anyone who expected anything different from Chopra has not been paying attention during the year he has run the CFPB. Chopra did not back down when he clashed with Jelena McWilliams, the former chair of the FDIC.
Chopra also reiterated during his remarks yesterday that the CFPB is looking to go beyond just issuing fines — into possibly limiting business practices or growth targets — for subjects of enforcement actions.
- “It’s going to take a while to really change the dynamic there. But our staff is considering a host of new provisions to pursue in court, or in settlement, that moves away from this reliance on just a civil penalty,” Chopra said, according to a published report.
The CFPB’s Agenda:
