President Trump has nominated Jonathan McKernan to become director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
McKernan stepped down from the board of directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to be considered for the CFPB directorship. McKernan was previously a counsel to Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) on the staff of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. He also served as a senior counsel at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, a senior policy advisor at the Department of the Treasury, and a senior financial policy advisor to Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN). Prior to his government service, McKernan was an attorney in private practice.
The CFPB is now being run by Russ Vought, director of the White House Office of Management Budget, who is leading the agency in the role of acting director.
McKernan’s nomination comes amid continued shake-ups at the CFPB. The Hill reports CFPB Deputy Director Zixta Martinez was placed on administrative while Lorelei Salas, assistant director for supervision policy, and Eric Halperin, assistant director for the Office of Enforcement, announced they were leaving the agency.
Get rid of Frank Dodd ACT. Us Congress gave Frank Dodd the powere. It was the government’s way of passing the buck for their lousy negative amortization loans that they push lenders to offer and which was on all their rate sheets for the mortgage brokers to use. Few of the lenders and brokers understood the consequences to the borrower. Frank Dodd wanted the public to believe the failed business was the result of the small business owners!!! When in fact these loans were performing poorly before the public realized it but the government knew it. The information I received was “they would throw the loans at the wall and take those that stick!”.
I am retired. But I owned my Mortgage Broker and Realty Broker business. I NEVER SOLD ONE OF THOSE LOANS AND SHAME ON THE GOVERMENT FOR PUSHING IT!!! I was teased from some of the lenders because “Oh that’s right you only sell the fixed rate”! Of course I did (!) – the rate was excellent, with no negative amortization, no prepayment penalty! You are to treat your customers as you would yourself or your mother or….
My neighbor 89 at the time, came over to show me her first statement which she did not understand along with the other papers her mortgage lender gave her (or rather did not give her). Clearly told her she was getting a 1% APE loan!!! But the first payment reflected MUCH higher payment options. She was not budgeted for a higher payment or interest rate!
She was a widow and on social security. She could no longer pay the monthly P/I payment amortized over 30 years. Her refrigerator was bare – 4 eggs, and a box of cereal in the door and a small milk, and animal cookies from the Dollar Store! She had tried selling her dining table – I would not let her.
I took her to my attorney and from there went to the Seniors Attorney at the Senior center.
They referred us to the District Attorney…. I provided copies of all the Paperwork my neighbor had and continued to help her until she ended up having a stroke and lived the rest of her life in a nursing home for 5 years totally paralyzed until she died. She could not speak but only communicated with blinking her eyes.
The guilty company – would only see the customer in their homes. Their doors were locked to the public. Did they get punished= NO.. They quickly closed the company and left no paper trail or phone …. and in researching the Loan officer who went to her home, records showed he was fired…. and the company closed. Another company was opened but they claimed they had no ties…
Now this is only one story…..The US Congress gave Frank Dodd this power against the hard-working mortgage lenders and innocent victims!
Trump please close CFPB in its current capacity!