WASHINGTON, D.C., and PHOENIX — Both on Capitol Hill and at
the Consumer Bankers Association's annual gathering, lawmakers and lenders wanted
to know how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is going to be led and
what regulations are coming.

First, current CFPB director Richard Cordray made his case
to remain in the role during a hearing conducted by the U.S. Senate Banking Committee
on Tuesday. Cordray highlighted what the CFPB has done since taking the lead in
a controversial recess appointment more than a year ago.

"To date, we have already handled more than 130,000
complaints from people in every state around the country," Cordray said. "Consumers
have contacted us for help resolving specific problems they have experienced
with consumer financial products and services, ranging from improper charges on
credit cards to mortgage payments that were wrongly applied.

"Through our consumer response operation, we have helped
return millions of dollars to consumers and have addressed many problems that
had been frustrating your constituents for months or even years," he continued.

"These are the kinds of issues that the Consumer Bureau is
already addressing on behalf of the millions of American consumers from coast
to coast, reflecting the full diversity of this great country," Cordray went on
to say as he wrapped up his prepared comments.

"Of course, there is much more to be done in each of these
areas, and we are determined to make more progress," he added. "Our essential
work is to serve and protect consumers – our mothers and fathers, sisters and
brothers, sons and daughters – all the people of this country who rely every
day on the markets for consumer finance. They deserve a fair shake, and they
deserve to have this agency standing on their side to make sure they are
treated fairly."

Even after Cordray's appearance, lawmakers remain deeply
divided about how the CFPB is organized.

Sen. Tim Johnson, a Democrat from South Dakota and chairman
of the banking committee, said that Cordray has testified before the group more
than any other financial regulator since the CFPB director's first confirmation
hearing back in September of 2011.

"During that time, director Cordray has proved to be a
strong leader of the CFPB. He has completed many of the rules required by Wall
Street Reform, including a well-received final QM rule.  He listens, and has crafted strong rules that
take into account all sides of an issue. 
He has laid the groundwork for nonbank regulation. He has brought to
light the financial challenges faced by students, elderly Americans,
servicemembers and their families.  He
has taken important enforcement actions against banks that took advantage of
customers. 

"So I ask my colleagues, what more can Richard Cordray do to
deserve an up-or-down vote?  I hope we
can finally put aside politics and move forward with Richard Cordray's
confirmation," Johnson went on to say.

Meanwhile, Sen. Mike Crapo, an Idaho Republican and the
ranking banking committee member still had questions. Crapo is part of a pledge
by 43 Republican senators — enough to prevent a floor vote — to block Cordray's
confirmation unless Democrats agree to structural changes to the bureau.

"As you know Senate Republicans want to see key structural
changes such as a board versus a single director, funding through the
appropriations process rather than director access to the Federal Reserve Board's
budget and establishing a safety and soundness check for the regulators," Crapo
said when addressing Cordray on Tuesday. "Are you open to working with the
Senate on these reforms to increase the transparency and the accountability of
the agency?"

In response, Cordray mentioned semiannual reports the CFPB
gives to both chambers of Congress as well as audits conducted by an independent
firm and by federal officials from the General Accounting Office.

The organizational structure referenced by Crapo also was
mentioned on the other side of the country as the Consumer Bankers Association
held its annual gathering, CBA Live 2013: The Future of Money.

Association president and chief executive officer Richard
Hunt said, "CBA continues to call for changes to the CFPB structure, including
from a sole director to a commission, so it endures the test of time, not just
the next election.

"This is the preferred leadership structure at independent
regulatory agencies since the (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) was
created in 1863 as it provides for a balanced and deliberate approach to
supervision and enforcement. Additional adjustments will ensure the bureau does
not continue to be a political football."

As Cordray appeared in Washington, D.C., several CFPB
assistant directors traveled to Phoenix for CBA's event, which included plenty
of dialogue about auto financing.

In one forum, CFPB assistant director of the installment and
liquidity lending group Richard Hackett and Patrice Ficklin, the agency's
assistant director of fair lending and equal opportunity, discussed the need
for auto lenders to monitor policies that allow discretion, such as dealer
markups, for potential discriminatory practices.

"Lenders should not assume they are liable only if they had
actual knowledge of the discrimination," Ficklin said.

Also on Tuesday, acting CFPB deputy director Steve Antonakes
used most of his lunchtime keynote address to focus on the mortgage industry. However,
Antonakes closed by touching on compliance and its place not in only mortgages,
but vehicle contracts and more.

"We recognize that compliance management will be managed
differently by large, complex banking organizations at one end of the spectrum
and small entities that offer a narrow range of financial products and services
at the other end," Antonakes said.

"While the characteristics and implementation will vary from
entity to entity, we believe compliance management activities, including
implementing new regulatory requirements, must be a priority and should be
appropriate for the nature, size, and complexity of the financial entity's
consumer business," he went on to say. "It is in the best interests of the
consumer for industry to understand and properly implement these rules."

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