Washington, D.C. — Today, Richard Cordray, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), announced his plans to resign by the end of November. Joe Valenti, director of Consumer Finance at the Center for American Progress, released the following statement in response:
Since joining the CFPB, Director Cordray has turned a startup agency into a consistent consumer watchdog for the American people. The CFPB has returned approximately $12 billion to 29 million Americans harmed by financial wrongdoing. It has processed more than 1.2 million complaints. It has uncovered dozens of scandals that have taken dollars out of Americans’ pockets, including at least $450 million from communities of color for fair lending abuses alone. It has introduced new rules to protect consumers from predatory practices across a wide range of products, from mortgages to payday loans. And it has strongly fought for college students, student loan borrowers, service members, older Americans, and others dealing with a financial marketplace that has not always had their best interests at heart.
In the wake of the financial crisis and under Cordray’s leadership, the CFPB strove to restore trust in both the financial system and the power of federal agencies as an effective voice to fight for all Americans. If his chosen successor has a track record of siding with the wealthy and powerful rather than consumers and the public interest, the Senate should know that the American people will be watching.
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