Payday lenders, student loan companies and banks that earn revenue from overdraft fees and similar charges should get a lift from the incoming Trump administration's overhaul of the nation's consumer watchdog agency, The Street reported yesterday. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was recently in the spotlight for disclosing that employees at Wells Fargo had opened as many as 2 million unauthorized consumer credit card and savings accounts in an effort to meet aggressive sales quotas. While Trump and his transition team have said that he would seek to abolish the entire Dodd-Frank law, it's unlikely that he could eliminate the CFPB. A major priority instead might be replacing its first director, Richard Cordray, which is easier said than done. A panel of federal appeals court judges ruled last month that the president should have the power to "supervise and direct" as well as fire the agency's director at will, although the bureau said before Trump's victory that it would appeal the decision. Regulatory observers contend that President Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress will simultaneously move ahead with a key goal that was blocked by Democrats: Replacing the role of director with a bipartisan commission made up of five members and subject to the congressional appropriations process.
