President Barck Obama is heavily rumored to name Elizabeth Warren as the first ever head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), reporting directly to the president and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Warren, a law professor specializing in bankruptcy law, is a Harvard professor and has pushed for the formation of a governmental agency to protect the financial rights of consumers since 2007.
The May edition of Time Magazine dubbed Warren, along with Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman (FDIC) Sheila C. Bair, and Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Mary Schapiro, the "New Sheriffs of Wall Street."
The CFPB will aim to consolidate employees and responsibilities from regulatory bodies, including the Federal Reserve, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD).
“Elizabeth Warren’s appointment to oversee the establishment of the new CFPB is a clear sign that President Obama and his administration are serious about protecting consumers from the abusive and predatory Wall Street practices that brought our country to the brink of financial collapse," said Nancy Zirkin, executive vice president of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
In November of 2008, Warren was appointed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to chair the five-member Congressional Oversight Panel created to oversee the implementation of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.
It is expected that Warren will officially be named to the CFPB post on Friday, Sept. 17.
