What Rohit Chopra’s Confirmation as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Means for Companies and Consumers Print PDF

The Senate confirmed Rohit Chopra as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) by a 50-48 party line vote on September 30. Chopra succeeds Acting Director Dave Uejio, who took over the reins of the agency after Kathy Kraninger, who led the CFPB from December 2018 until she resigned in January 2021.

With his confirmation, we can expect Chopra, a veteran of the CFPB from the days of its formation during the Obama Administration, to return the agency to a more forceful regulatory role. Chopra most recently served as a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission.

Chopra was a powerful voice in the student lending space as the CFPB’s first Student Loan Ombudsman, often taking tough stances against student loan servicers. Based on his testimony at his confirmation hearing, it is clear the CFPB under Chopra will play an active role in the Biden Administration’s oversight over payday lenders, data privacy, the student loan industry and certain consumer banking products, including deposit accounts and overdraft fees. Chopra is also expected to build out the CFPB’s fintech capabilities.

In the short term, we expect Chopra and the CFPB to play an active role in promoting loss mitigation within the mortgage industry. The CFPB’s Final Rule amending RESPA Regulation X, effective August 31, 2021, established temporary procedural obligations on mortgage servicers aimed to avoid foreclosure as the various COVID-related foreclosure moratoriums are lifted.

Please reach out to the authors of this alert, Jim Berg or Brian Turetsky, for help with matters before the CFPB or other financial agencies and regulators.