Kraninger Open to Congressional Proposals to Restructure CFPB Leadership

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Kathy Kraninger recently stated that she is open to changes regarding the Bureau’s leadership structure. Her comments at a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) came after the Supreme Court decided the “for cause” removal provision was unconstitutional for a single director-led agency.

“I welcome the proposal action on structure by Congress, generally speaking, and I do believe Congress would come to a good conclusion on that,” Kraninger said, as reported by American Banker. “Certainly, if I see legislation that I think would be detrimental to the agency… I certainly will let you know my views.”

Republican members of the Committee maintained that the structure of the Bureau needed to be addressed beyond the Supreme Court decision—something they have long pushed for, dating back to the 2010 debates in Congress around the Dodd-Frank Act which created the Bureau. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) recommended a five-member bipartisan commission structure for the CFPB.

Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), the Committee’s top Republican, expressed excitement about the “real opportunity to bring necessary statutory reforms to the CFPB, reforms that will benefit consumers and bring clear guidance to industry so that they may better serve their customers.”

Kraninger also commented on the CFPB rule pertaining to Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans, which have been considered risky because of the problems they create for borrowers. Under the direction of Congress, the Bureau requested feedback for current practices in PACE financing and borrower delinquencies to manage the “unique nature” of the loans.

“The data collection that we need to predicate that notice of proposed rulemaking will begin in early September,” Kraninger said. “We’ll have the data this year.”