Consumer Protection And Wall Street

American finance and the little guy. It’s official day one for the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. It’s founder Elizabeth Warren is out. Still no director. And, it’s under attack.

Official Day One, today, for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau –- the federal banking watchdog that consumer champion Elizabeth Warren pushed into life to stand up for little guys and gals facing American finance on credit cards and mortgages and banking.

A big official day –- except that Warren’s been booted, the first director nominee may never be confirmed, the agency’s only half born, and bankers –- Warren says -– want to kill it.

No, say bank lobbyists. Just restructure.

This hour On Point: American finance, consumer protection, industry pushback, and the fate of the little guy.
-Tom Ashbrook
Guests:

Adam Levitin, professor at Georgetown Law School, where he specializes in financial regulation.

Kate Davidson, reporter for American Banker, where she has been covering the controversy over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group based in Washington.

Lynne Barr, partner at the law firm Goodwin Procter, where she is chair of the firm’s Consumer Financial Services Practice.

From Tom's Reading List:

• Los Angeles Times: "In announcing Monday that he's nominating former Ohio Atty. Gen. Richard Cordray to run the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Obama clearly hoped to leapfrog over opposition to his original pick: Harvard professor Elizabeth Warren."

• Los Angeles Times: "Beyond the political fight over approving its director, the new, sorely needed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be impeded by unusual restrictions."

• The Wall Street Journal: "The new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will begin supervision of the nation's largest banks next week and expects to subject the biggest of those firms to year-round supervision, the agency said Tuesday."