The Trump Administration is expected to name Kathy Kraninger as its nominee to permanently lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
If confirmed, Kraninger would replace Mick Mulvaney, who has been serving as acting director of the bureau since November 2017.
Kraninger currently works as a deputy in the Office of Budget and Management, which is also led by Mulvaney.
Mulvaney’s term as acting director is set to expire on June 22, under the law that enabled President Trump to appoint him to the position.
However, as long as the White House nominates someone to become permanent director by that date, Mulvaney will remain acting director until a replacement is confirmed by the Senate. That could take months – possibly until the end of the year.
Up until last week, reports were circulating that the administration was considering National Credit Union Administration Chairman J. Mark McWatters as permanent director. A recent Bloomberg article also said Trump was considering outgoing Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., for the agency’s top slot.
Kraninger could have trouble getting confirmed, as some consumer advocate groups have said that she lacks the needed experience in consumer finance. Allied Progress, a left-leaning consumer group, said her nomination is nothing more than a play by the White House to keep Mulvaney at the helm for as long as possible.
“This is nothing more than a desperate attempt by Mick Mulvaney to maintain his grip on the CFPB, so he can continue undermining its important consumer protection mission on behalf of the powerful Wall Street special interests and predatory lenders that have bankrolled his career,” says Karl Frisch, executive director of Allied Progress, in a post on the group’s website. “The White House promised a nominee by last January and Mulvaney says he will stay on until at least the end of the year. They know waiting for the last possible moment to announce a nominee and then selecting someone whose resume of relevant experience is basically nonexistent, buys them more time with Mulvaney at the helm.”
The post goes on to state that Kraninger has “no relevant experience.”
“Kraninger has focused almost exclusively on homeland security issues in her professional career,” the post states. “She only began working as an associate director at OMB last year, after Mulvaney took over.”
In the past, Mulvaney has been harshly critical of the CFPB and its mission, making his appointment as acting director a head-scratcher for many. Prior to being named top dog of the agency, while he was serving as a congressman from South Carolina, he called the bureau a “joke … in a sad, sick kind of way,” and sponsored legislation to have it abolished.
Since becoming acting director, Mulvaney has shifted the bureau’s mission to make “identifying and addressing outdated, unnecessary, or unduly burdensome regulations” its top priority, as opposed to protecting consumers. In April he vowed to shut off public access to the bureau’s controversial consumer complaint database.
Two weeks ago, he dismissed all 25 members of the bureau’s Consumer Advisory Board in order to cut costs and increase the diversity of voices. He also eliminated the bureau’s Community Bank Advisory Board and the Credit Union Advisory Board.
And last week he ordered that the bureau’s name be changed to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, instead of the CFPB, even going so far as to have the sign at the bureau’s new headquarters changed to “BCFP.”
Mulvaney has also significantly curtailed the bureau’s enforcement activities. Other than last month’s action in conjunction with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to fine Wells Fargo & Co. $1 billion for multiple consumer abuses, the CFPB has not taken a single enforcement action since Mulvaney took the helm.
Mulvaney took over following the resignation of Richard Cordray, a Democrat appointed by President Obama to be the agency’s first leader. Just before he departed, Cordray named Leandra English, his chief of staff, to become deputy director. Cordray said English’s appointment was allowed under a provision of the Dodd-Frank Act that created the bureau.
But within hours of Cordray’s resignation announcement, Trump appointed Mulvaney to fill the post under the federal Vacancies Act. English went to court seeking to be declared the lawful acting director, however, her request for a preliminary injunction was denied. She has since appealed.
In a statement, Dave Motley, CMB, chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and president of Colonial Savings, FA, said the association is “pleased that Kathy Kraninger has been nominated to oversee the BCFP.”
“Based on her background and experience, we look forward to hearing her views about how to improve the Bureau’s oversight and operations, and how she will leverage the information gathered from the ongoing RFI process to protect consumers from unscrupulous practices while also ensuring they enjoy access to safe, sustainable loan products,” Motley said. “[The] MBA is eager for a fair and thorough confirmation process to begin as quickly as possible.”
