WASHINGTON — Richard Cordray has emerged as a leading candidate to be the Federal Reserve’s top bank regulator, according to a media report.
Cordray, who led the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from 2013 to 2017, is under consideration to lead the Fed’s bank oversight practice as vice chair of supervision, according to a
Currently serving as a senior official in the Department of Education overseeing the federal government’s student loan program, Cordray became the first Senate-confirmed official to lead the CFPB in 2013, by a vote of 66-34, including 12 Senate Republicans.
If nominated by the White House and confirmed by the Senate, Cordray would step into a critical policymaking role last occupied by Gov. Randal Quarles, who was removed from his post as head of supervision when his term expired in October. The Federal Reserve’s internal supervision committee has since been run on a joint basis through Quarles and Govs. Lael Brainard and Michelle Bowman.
On Cordray's watch, the CFPB collected nearly $12 billion in settlements from banks and other financial firms while writing rules to remake the mortgage industry in the wake of the financial crisis.
By the end of his term, Cordray was a lightning rod for many Republicans lawmakers, who
While Cordray’s views on consumer protection are well known, his positions on bank capital requirements and other big-picture policy matters taken up by the U.S. central bank are less clear. But as CFPB director, Cordray sat on the board of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and had a seat on the Financial Stability Oversight Council.
Cordray’s political roots trace to Ohio, where he served as the state’s attorney general before leading the CFPB. After leaving the agency, Cordray ran in the 2018 Ohio gubernatorial race as a Democrat, losing to Republican Mike DeWine.
Cordray did not respond to requests for comment.
