May 26, 2011
Testifying before a House subcommittee Thursday, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair said she felt comfortable with the leadership of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the hands of an individual director, according to HousingWire.
Recently, the House approved several bills that seek to amend the structure of the CFPB, including placing its governance in the hands of a five-member bipartisan panel instead of a sole director.
The FDIC board requires at least five votes in favor before a proposed regulation can move forward. Although CFPB would not be subject to the same process, Bair told the House she has no reservations.
“I like boards. I think even though it’s more difficult for me. I’m no dictator. I have to go get my five votes just as a chairman of a committee has to do that. I think it is a good process,” Bair said. “Either way though, you have the OCC with a single-head, so you have both models in the financial regulatory sphere. So, no, I have no reservations.”
Yet many GOP lawmakers feel differently. Forty-four GOP senators recently claimed in a letter to President Obama that they wouldn’t support any CFPB nominee until Congress is given greater control over the agency.
The CFPB director will be on the board at the FDIC, which Bair said, should give that individual the “sensitivity, knowledge and awareness” of its regulatory process.
The CFPB must have a director in place by its July 21 opening or stand to lose much of its regulatory authority. Many Democrats lawmakers, as well as organizations who advocated for the creation of the CFPB, are now calling for President Obama to place Elizabeth Warren in charge as director through a recess appointment – a procedure that would not require Senate’s approval. Warren, in a special role with the Treasury Department, has been helping to set up the CFPB ahead of its scheduled opening.
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