Kathy Kraninger has stepped down as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), per the request of new President Joe Biden’s administration.
“As requested by the Biden administration, today I resigned as director of the CFPB,” Kraninger tweeted this morning, along with her letter of resignation. “I am proud of all that we accomplished on behalf of consumers.
“It has been an honor,” she added, “to lead the agency during these challenging times.”
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Kraninger’s tenure, as it relates to the housing sphere, has been highlighted by the reconstruction of the definition of qualified mortgages (QMs), tossing out the previous 43% debt-to-income (DTI) ratio threshold with a price-based approach, as well as the creation of a new, “seasoned” category of QM loans. Final rules on both of those changes were issued in December.
“In addition to our important mission work, I hope that my legacy will be the maturation of the CFPB itself and its role within the financial services regulatory framework,” Kraninger said in her letter. “Building on a mission-driven culture, I sought to embed a commitment to continual improvement, diversity in all aspects, and inclusion (workforce and stakeholder).”
Biden has already nominated Rohit Chopra to be the next director of the bureau. Chopra, a member of the Federal Trade Commission and former assistant director of the CFPB, is a prominent ally of Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who first proposed and helped establish the CFPB. Chopra’s background is as a consumer watchdog for student loans, and his tabbing as the bureau’s new head suggests a return to a more assertive regulatory policy.
