As expected, Kathy Kraninger was confirmed by the Senate Thursday to become the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) second full-time director.
The final vote, 50-49, was along party lines.
Her nomination cleared a cloture vote, also 50-49, last week to end debate on the nomination of Kraninger.
She will be in charge of the bureau for five years, following Richard Cordray’s four-year stint from 2013 through his resignation in November 2017.
Shannon McGahn, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Association of Realtors (NAR), issued a statement in support of the Senate’s confirmation.
“America’s 1.3 million Realtors recognize the critical role the bureau plays in maintaining the integrity of significant financial transactions like home purchases,” McGahn said. “Under Ms. Kraninger’s leadership, we believe the bureau will properly protect consumers and support businesses that help more individuals achieve the American dream of homeownership.
“Earlier this month, NAR spearheaded a support letter for Ms. Kraninger to Senate leadership, an effort that was supported by over 20 housing and financial organizations from across the industry. Ultimately, NAR is pleased to see Ms. Kraninger confirmed, and we look forward to working alongside the bureau in our shared efforts to protect consumers, ensure compliance certainty in the marketplace and strengthen our nation’s housing industry.”
Jim Nussle, president and CEO of the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), also released a statement.
“We’re pleased to have a new permanent director leading the (CFPB), as credit unions and other parts of the financial services marketplace need stability at the bureau,” Nussle said. “We look forward to working with Ms. Kraninger and her staff on ways to help credit unions serve members better.”
Dan Berger, president and CEO of the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU), said he looks forward to working with Kraninger.
“Additionally, we will continue to advocate for a tailoring of regulation at the bureau to reign in unscrupulous behavior by Wall Street banks and bad marketplace actors while exempting credit unions from burdensome regulations that will simultaneously raise costs on their members,” Berger said in a news release.
Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said in a statement that the “ICBA looks forward to working with Director Kraninger on the bureau’s many important initiatives, including ensuring that regulations are tiered and proportionate to the smaller size and reduced risk of the nation’s community banks.”
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) congratulated Kraninger following the vote.
“As Congress continues its efforts to reform the bureau into a law enforcement agency that truly protects consumers and is accountable to the people, I am confident that with her experience and knowledge of budget management, Kathy will excel as director of the bureau,” Hensarling said. “I look forward to working with her, the Trump administration and House and Senate Democrats to put real reforms in place that protect consumers.”
Kraninger was an associate director at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under acting bureau director Mick Mulvaney and previously worked for the Department of Homeland Security.