Two house republicans are now questioning a former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Official’s launch of his own mortgage company focused on non-qualifying loans.
Following the launch of former CFPB second-in-command Raj Date’s private mortgage company Fenway Summer, House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Henserling, R-Texas and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., sent a letter to CFPB Director Richard Cordray stressing concerns about Date’s participation in the private sector.
“Simply put, it appears that former CFPB employees are now offering financial products in a market sector created by the very rules they were in a position to influence while working in senior leadership positions at the CFPB,” the congressmen write. “This conduct raises serious questions about the integrity of the CFPB’s rulemaking process and the conduct of some of its most senior former officials. We are deeply concerned that this close relationship between the CFPB and its former officials ultimately could harm consumers.”
In June, the company launched, stating its focus would be on borrowers who do not meet the standards for “qualified mortgages,” as set by the CFPB under rules scheduled to go live in January 2014.
“Although the CFPB is now two years old, it remains ‘something of a mystery to many market participants as it ramps up operations,'” the letter states.
The letter is also signed by Subcommittee Chairman Shelley Moore Capito, R-W. Va., Subcommittee Chairman Patrick McHenry, R-N.C. and Subcommittee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
