Raj Date, who spent the past two years leading key initiatives at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, officially stepped down from his post Thursday.

The bureau announced that Steve Antonakes, associate director for supervision, enforcement and fair lending at the CFPB, will temporarily serve as acting deputy director until a full-time replacement is found to fill Date's post.

Date arrived at the bureau in 2011 and was hyped as an internal leader who brought a combination of Wall Street and consumer protection experience. He became the interim de facto leader after the bureau's architect Elizabeth Warren left her Treasury post and prior to the recess appointment of CFPB Director Richard Cordray.

"We will be forever grateful to Deputy Director Raj Date for his tremendous work to protect American consumers," said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. "As the CFPB's first deputy director, Raj has helped to lead the agency's organizational, strategic, and policy efforts and put in place key new mortgage rules that will benefit all Americans."

During his time at CFPB, Date served as special advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury and as Associate Director for research, markets and regulations.

Acting Deputy Director Antonakes joined the CFPB in November 2010 as assistant director of large bank supervision and then moved to associate director for supervision, enforcement and fair lending.