Tag Archives: Richard Cordray

Financial reform under Dodd-Frank has taken some heat and even encountered a few setbacks lately, namely the removal of the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s “systemically important financial institution” (SIFI) from MetLife and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s pending trial from PHH Corp.’s appeal of a $109 million penalty handed down last June.

CFPB Director Richard Cordray faced intense criticism from the committee's Republicans, particularly Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), who said that Congress has made the Director a “dictator” and given him power that is “amazing, frightening, and tragic.”

The toolkit was developed as a part of the CFPB’s “Know Before You Owe” mortgage initiative and helps consumers take full advantage of the new Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure forms that lenders are required to begin providing in August.

Allegations of workplace discrimination within the CFPB arose in 2013 when documents were leaked by employees to the media. Employees alleged they were givin unfair evaluations based on gender, race, and age, not job performance. Head of the CFPB Rirchard Cordray admitted the employee evaluation system used in 2012 and 2013 was unfair and launched his own internal report last year. Cordray’s report found black and Hispanic workers, those over age 40, those outside Washington, D.C. and those in the union were more likely to get bad performance evaluations under the system, which worsened their pay and career advancement prospects.

With the midterm election in the rearview, Democrats are circling the wagons to protect what will certainly be a top priority on the Republicans' list of changes to make—the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently sent a letter to the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) urging the agency to adopt a cautious approach as it puts greater scrutiny on brokers operating under the "mini-correspondent" lender model. The letter comes months after the bureau signaled it will be watching out for brokers trying to skirt its compensation rules by operating the same way under a different label.

CFPB Director Richard Cordray appeared before the House Financial Services Committee this week to address allegations of discrimination and a culture of retaliation at the agency. While Cordray would not discuss any individual discrimination complaints, he said, "We take each of these allegations very seriously and we will continue to work diligently to resolve any issues through all appropriate channels."

The House Financial Services Committee is set to hear testimony from CFPB Director Richard Cordray on Wednesday about allegations of discrimination at the bureau. Wednesday's hearing will be the third hearing on the matter following earlier allegations from whistleblowers that CFPB fostered "a culture of racial and gender discrimination and retaliation against its employees."

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is proposing a rule that would update the reporting requirements under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). The proposed rule purports to standardize the reporting threshold for most lenders, relax the reporting requirements for some smaller lenders, and improve the electronic reporting process.

The CFPB this week proposed a new rule to allow consumers that post complaints the option to opine on the details on its public-facing database. The banking and servicing community is concerned at the idea, with the Consumer Bankers Association's CEO, Richard Hunt, commenting that the proposed system runs the risk of being too one-sided.