Consumer Agency's Warren Said To Hire Ohio Attorney General
Consumer Agency’s Warren Said To Hire Ohio Attorney General
Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg
Elizabeth Warren, assistant to U.S. President Barack Obama.
Elizabeth Warren, assistant to U.S. President Barack Obama. Photographer: Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg
Elizabeth Warren, the special White House adviser setting up the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, has selected Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head the new agency’s enforcement arm, according to two people briefed on the appointment.
Cordray, a Democrat who was defeated in November for re- election by former Republican Senator Mike DeWine, has participated in the multi-state investigation of mortgage servicers over allegedly falsified documents.
The consumer bureau, which was created by the Dodd-Frank regulatory overhaul, has the authority to regulate consumer financial products, and Warren has set credit cards and mortgages as its first priorities. Its employees are now part of the Treasury Department and will join the bureau when it officially starts work in July 2011.
In November, Cordray sued GMAC Mortgage LLC and its corporate parent, Ally Financial Inc., accusing them of using fraudulent affidavits in court cases over foreclosures in Ohio, according to the state’s website. His office is also managing litigation against financial firms including American International Group and Bank of America Corp.
Under Cordray, the Ohio state attorney general’s office also opened up its consumer complaint process to small businesses and non-profit organizations, a step that drew criticism from the head of the unit that he was overstretching its resources.
‘Jeopardy’ Winner
Cordray, 51, previously served as Ohio’s treasurer, a state representative and as a law clerk to the U.S. Supreme Court, and has personally argued seven cases before the high court, according to his official biography. He was also a five-time winner on the quiz show Jeopardy.
Cordray’s office did not respond to requests for comment. Warren’s office declined to comment for this report. The people briefed on the matter spoke on condition of anonymity because the appointment hasn’t been announced.
Separately, Warren said in a statement that she has hired Tim Duncan, a former president and founder of Story Street Partners Inc., a financial consultancy, to head up technology operations for the new bureau. David Forest, formerly of head of the London-based subsidiary of The Motley Fool, the investment website, will be in charge of “online engagement,” to help the bureau connect with the public.
To contact the reporter on this story: Carter Dougherty in Washington at cdougherty6@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Lawrence Roberts at lroberts13@bloomberg.net.
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