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July 17, 2011

Cordray tapped as CFPB head

July 18, 2011 – President Obama said yesterday that he would nominate Richard Cordray, the former attorney general of Ohio, to lead the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, ending months of speculation over whether there would be a nominee prior to the July 21 start date of the new agency.

However, Senate Republicans signaled Sunday they still would block Cordray's nomination unless changes are made to the new agency. The CFPB is due to take over a broad range of financial regulatory and supervisory duties on Thursday, and last week Elizabeth Warren, the Treasury secretary's special advisor on the CFPB, provided Congress with an update on the new agency's activities and plans.

NAFCU has been in touch with CFPB officials as they prepare for the July 21 implementation date. In a June 30 letter to the CFPB, NAFCU asked the new agency to consider the unique structural aspects of credit unions as well as the current regulatory environment when writing and enforcing rules affecting federal credit unions as Warren had previously noted the CFPB is required by law to do with respect to small entities in accordance with Dodd-Frank.

NAFCU outlined the association's concerns about credit unions' current regulatory environment and the potential harm that would come if the new bureau does not weigh the unique considerations of credit unions when developing its rules and requirements.