Industry observers generally agree that Cordray's confirmation brings some welcome clarity, for the CFPB and for those it oversees. FBR Capital Markets analyst Edward Mills said companies that have been under CFPB scrutiny will be eager to finalize rules so that their businesses can be assessed on fundamentals, rather than unknowable regulatory risks.
The confirmation is an important development for those engaged in mortgage lending, said Alan Kaplinsky, chair of the consumer financial services group at Ballard Spahr LLP. "[T]he CFPB has issued thousands of pages of mortgage regulations that are scheduled to go into effect in January, and now I don't think there will be any doubt that the regulations will be validly issued," he said.
The certainty also means the bureau can move forward with new rulemakings on important issues, like prepaid cards, payday lending and student loans. "There are still a lot of issues that they haven't gotten to yet that are going to be significant to consumers and to financial services providers," said Dory Rand, president of the Woodstock Institute.