Elizabeth Warren has been appointed to oversee the creation of the new U.S. Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (the Bureau). The Bureau is designed to be a consumer financial watchdog, regulating consumer financial products and services, and addressing issues such as financial literacy, protection for older Americans, and fair lending and equal opportunity. The Bureau will also be required to establish a system for handling consumer complaints, including a toll-free telephone number.
Ms. Warren, a Harvard law professor, was the first to propose an agency to protect financial consumers and was a driving force behind the creation of the new Bureau. Ms. Warren has long argued that American consumers deserve a separate regulator to protect them in today’s financial marketplace and is a fierce advocate for the middle class. She is known to be outspoken against the lending practices of banks, particularly when it comes to confusing contracts and fine print, and is an expert in the area of consumer bankruptcy.
From 2008 until the announcement of her appointment, Ms. Warren chaired the Congressional Oversight Panel which was created to monitor the expenditure of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds and to provide recommendations on regulatory reform. Ms. Warren has published numerous books, including several focused on financial issues affecting the middle class.
The news of Ms. Warren’s appointment was a victory for consumer advocates and Democrats, who have lobbied to have her appointed to the Bureau that she has fought long and hard to have established. Her supporters view her as a tough advocate to crusade for financial fairness for the working class. Republicans and those on Wall Street opposed her potential nomination because she has long criticized Wall Street and has aggressive views on financial regulation.
The Bureau is targeted to be up and running by July 2011, one year after it was established by the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act.
