Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been appointed as the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), as announced by the CFPB on Monday morning. The appointment was made on Friday, following the termination of Rohit Chopra, the previous director, at the beginning of the weekend. In a letter posted on Saturday, Chopra confirmed the end of his term.
This is not the first instance where President Donald Trump has named an acting director for the agency who also held another full-time job in his administration. In November 2017, Mick Mulvaney was appointed as acting director while serving as the head of the Office of Management and Budget. Mulvaney served in the acting director role for over a year until Kathy Kraninger was confirmed as the next director by the Senate.
Critics of Chopra have raised concerns about his broad interpretation of the CFPB's oversight authority. During his tenure, several rules were finalized to restrict the fees that banks could charge customers for services like overdrafts and late payments, leading to ongoing litigation. With Bessent's appointment, some analysts speculate that there may be a shift in the agency's approach.
Financial services policy analyst Jaret Seiberg from TD Cowen Washington Research Group suggests that Bessent's leadership could result in the CFPB halting pending rulemakings and taking control of existing litigation. Seiberg anticipates that this change may lead to the CFPB withdrawing its defense of rules related to credit card late fees, bank overdrafts, credit bureau regulations, and open banking.
