Hooray for Cordray! Consumers win with Senate confirmation

Congratulations to Richard Cordray on being confirmed by the Senate Tuesday as first permanent director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

"This is a big win for consumers," said Consumers Reports President and CEO Jim Guest after the vote. "The Senate did the right thing with a strong bipartisan vote. The CFPB is a real watchdog to help consumers and crack down on financial scams and schemes. ... Today's vote sends a message to consumers that this watchdog is going to be there, looking out for them."

The 66 to 34 vote confirmed Cordray as head of the CFPB, the nation's first agency devoted solely to protecting consumers of financial products and services. Cordray had been in the position since a recess appointment by President Obama last January, but had never been confirmed by the Senate until Tuesday. By law, the CFPB could not exercise its full authority until the Senate confirmed its director.

Opponents had tried to block Cordray's appointment, and insisted that the oversight of the bureau be decentrallized--controlled by a board of directors rather than one appointee. According to The New York Times, that fight is not dead; Republican lawmakers said on Tuesday they would continue to push for structural changes in the CFPB.

The CFPB, created by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law in 2010, is charged with identifying and stopping unfair, deceptive, and abusive financial practices and keeping the rules governing financial service products up-to-date. Under Corday's tenure, the CFPB enforcement actions have resulted in $425 million of refunds to approximately 6 million consumers who were subject to deceptive financial practices. The CFPB has also helped resolve over 133,000 financial services complaints involving a wide variety of financial issues--many of the same topics that concern us here at Consumer Reports--including credit cards, mortgages, student loans, and bank account services.

Check out the CFPB's web site to see what they're up to. And give a cheer to celebrate a victory for consumers!

—Tobie Stanger