President Trump fired former Client Monetary Safety Bureau Director Rohit Chopra on Saturday. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will take over management duties till Trump nominates a brand new director.
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President Trump has appointed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent because the Client Monetary Safety Bureau’s performing director, three days after firing former director Rohit Chopra a bit greater than a yr earlier than his time period was set to finish.
“I look forward to working with the CFPB to advance President Trump’s agenda to lower costs for the American people and accelerate economic growth,” Bessent mentioned in an announcement on Monday.
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Bessent’s first actions embody freezing the enforcement of guidelines made throughout Chopra’s final days, together with eradicating medical debt from client’s credit score studies and capping overdraft charges to $5. There’s no phrase on what Bessent will do concerning Chopra’s newest string of lawsuits in opposition to mortgage lenders over exorbitant charges, unlawful kickbacks and different predatory practices. The bureau filed a lawsuit in December in opposition to Rocket Mortgage for breaking the Actual Property Settlement Procedures Act for allegedly offering kickbacks in change for referrals and requiring brokers and brokers to steer their shoppers towards the corporate’s merchandise.
In his closing assertion as CFPB director, Chopra mentioned he was proud to serve shoppers and combat for his or her rights.
“It has been an extraordinary privilege to serve as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation since 2021, as well as to serve as a Commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission from 2018 to 2021,” he mentioned in a letter addressed to President Trump. “I am grateful to both President Biden and you for nominating me and to the United States Senate for confirming me to these positions.”
“I’m proud that the CFPB has done so much to restore the rule of law,” he added. “Since 2021, we have returned billions of dollars from repeat offenders and other bad actors, implemented dormant legal authorities and long-overdue rules required by law, and given more freedom and bargaining leverage to families navigating a complex and confusing financial system.”
Though former President Biden appointed him, Chopra mentioned he was ready to work with the brand new Administration to cease Chinese language and Russian information brokers from accessing People’ information and stopping monetary and expertise companies from canceling customers’ accounts for exercising their proper to free speech.
“… We have also put forth policies to block financial firms and technology giants from debanking and deplatforming Americans based on their speech or religious views, while also restoring freedom and other individual rights,” he mentioned. “The next CFPB Director will also be able to act on the evidence we have already uncovered in law enforcement investigations of Big Tech and Wall Street firms. We have also analyzed your promising proposal on capping credit card interest rates, and we see a path for enacting meaningful reforms.”
Chopra’s firing elicited combined reactions. The Client Federation of America lamented the director’s early departure, saying that he left “behind an impressive record” and fulfilled the “mission to protect consumers.”
“Under Director Rohit Chopra, the CFPB prioritized our pocketbooks over corporate profits,” CFA Director of Monetary Companies Adam Rust mentioned in a written assertion. “Since he began in his role in September 2021, the CFPB has fought against junk fees, repeat offenders, big tech evasions, and corporate deception. It has championed competition, transparency, accountability, and consumer financial health.”
“The agency applied its enforcement authority to address substantially harmful and widely occurring practices at the largest financial institutions, and through the lens of its supervisory authority, connected the dots to reveal how risky financial products can cause financial peril for working people,” he added.
In the meantime, bankers appear to be happy with Chopra’s early exit.
The Client Bankers Affiliation mentioned days earlier than the Inauguration they hoped Trump would appoint a brand new CFPB director that may roll again the restriction on overdraft charges. “The CFPB largely dismissed concerns raised by industry commenters16 about the CFPB’s lack of authority to issue this rule and most importantly the impact of the rule on consumers,” CBA mentioned in a white paper. “… Accordingly, a new CFPB should extend the effective date for the rulemaking and then re-propose the rule.”
Not one of the nation’s largest mortgage and lending teams have issued an announcement about Chopra’s exit; nevertheless, it’s not onerous to think about that they’re in the identical boat as bankers, with Chopra’s final actions specializing in mortgage lenders. Chopra mentioned the CFPB’s investigations yielded greater than $120 million in refunds for debtors in 2024 alone.
