CAMBRIDGE WINTER CENTER
for Financial Institutions Policy
Guiding Principles for the New Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection
By Tim Duncan
With the enactment of the financial reform bill, the much-debated Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (the “CFPB”, or the “Bureau”) has come into being – at least on paper.
The CFPB is in some sense experimental. Even if its first Director is top-notch, passionate and has the rare ability to apply common sense to government, he or she will have a formidable challenge ahead. With that challenge in mind, this paper presents a brief description of the nuts and bolts of launching the CFPB and, more importantly, six guiding principles for the CFPB in its critical first year.
Tim Duncan, CFA, is a third-party contributor to the Cambridge Winter Center. He is an attorney, the president of an investment advisory firm, and the chairman of American Business Leaders for Financial Reform. He has been an entrepreneur and senior executive in finance and in financial technology for 25 years.
LAUNCH CODES
October 4, 2010
The creation of the CFPB holds great promise, but launching it effectively is a daunting challenge. The Bureau’s first Director should bear in mind six “commandments” in the critical first year.
