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Raj Date, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's No. 2 who has helped build the bureau from the ground up, rejected the claim that the 'qualified mortgage' rule will push lenders out of the business and said the mortgage industry managed "to do almost everything wrong" prior to crisis.
January 29 -
Raj Date, the deputy director at CFPB, is seen as a moderating influence at the agency, given his past experience as a banker. His pending departure leaves bankers nervous about the future.
November 13 -
A ruling by a federal appeals court last week that President Obama acted improperly in recess appointing members of the National Labor Relations Board may encourage Democrats to cut a deal on the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
January 28
WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau named Steve Antonakes as acting deputy director following the departure of Raj Date from that position on Thursday.
The agency said that Antonakes, the associate director for supervision, enforcement and fair lending, will assume Date's role until a permanent replacement is found.
Antonakes has been a bank examiner and regulator for more than 20 years. He joined the CFPB in November 2010 as assistant director of large bank supervision before assuming his current role last June.
Previously, Antonakes was the bank commissioner for Massachusetts and served as the first voting member for state regulators on the
Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council. He was also vice chairman of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and a founding member of the governing board of the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System.
"Steve's knowledge, expertise, and judgment will continue to be invaluable as we move forward with our important work --making markets work for consumers and responsible businesses," Director Richard Cordray said in a press release.
Date unexpectedly announced in November that he would step down as deputy director once the agency had released a bevy of new mortgage rules.
"We will be forever grateful to Deputy Director Raj Date for his tremendous work to protect American consumers," Cordray said.
Date joined the CFPB two year ago in its early stages under the helm of Elizabeth Warren and later as acting head of the agency until Cordray was named in a still-controversial appointment. As deputy director, Date continued to help build out the agency's infrastructure and more recently, ensured a brunt of mortgage rules, including on qualified mortgages, were released this month before a statutory Jan. 21 deadline. (An exit interview with Date can be
"As the CFPB's first deputy director, Raj has helped to lead the agency's organizational, strategic, and policy efforts and put in place key new mortgage rules that will benefit all Americans," Cordray said. "Although we will miss Raj, he has helped to build a strong, talented team and I am pleased that Steve will be taking on the role of acting deputy director."
