President Renominates Cordray as CFPB Director, Picks Former U.S. Attorney for SEC

President Obamarnhas named Mary Jo White to head the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) andrnreappointed Richard Cordray as Director of the Consumer Finance ProtectionrnBureau (CFPB).  Cordray is currentlyrnserving in that capacity through a recess appointment by the President.</p

White is a former U.S. attorney in New York, the firstrnwoman to hold that position.  She oversawrna number of high-profile prosecutions including that of mob boss John Gotti andrnthe persons responsible for the first World Trade Center bombing.  She is currently a partner at the Debevoisernand Plimpton law firm where the New YorkrnTimes notes she has defendedrnKenneth D. Lewis, a former head of Bank of America and was hired last year by thernN.F.L. to investigate allegations about the New Orleans Saints and an alleged bountyrnsystem for hurting opponents.</p

Cordray wasrnappointed by the President last January after the Senate balked at confirmingrnanyone to head the new CFPB.  Since hisrnappointment Cordray has overseen the promulgation of rules related to severalrncontroversial provisions of the Dodd-Frank act. rnHis oversight of the rulemaking process has been widely praised by thosernaffected.  It is unclear whether thernSenate has modified its attitude toward the Bureau sufficiently to ratify his permanentrnappointment. </p

According to thernTimes, the Administration made the appointments of the two former prosecutorsrn(Cordray is also the former Attorney General of Ohio where he sued several bigrnfinancial firms) to send a message about the importance of holding Wall Street accountable for wrongdoing. </p

JayrnCarney, White House Press Secretary said, “The president believes thatrnappointment and the renomination he’s making today demonstrate the commitmentrnhe has to carrying out Wall Street reform, making sure we have the rules of thernroad that are necessary and that are being enforced in a way” to avoid a crisisrnlike that of 2008.” </p

New YorkrnAttorney General Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman who has worked with bothrnindividuals released the following statement on the appointments.  “As U.S. Attorney, Ms. White demonstrated arnstrong commitment to aggressively enforcing one set of rules for all, and herrnoutstanding record of bringing white collar criminals to justice speaks forrnitself. She is a tough, experienced prosecutor, which is exactly what the SECrnneeds right now to restore investor confidence. </p

“DirectorrnCordray has played a critically important role in developing a regulatoryrnframework that ensures consumers are protected, and our economy is notrnvulnerable to another financial meltdown. He deserves to continue the criticalrnwork he’s started.”

All Content Copyright © 2003 – 2009 Brown House Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.nReproduction in any form without permission of MortgageNewsDaily.com is prohibited.