The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, while not yet a month past its official launch on July 21, has hired the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s RESPA chief and has gained control of Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). The bureau gained administrative responsibility of RESPA on July 21.

HUD announced Wednesday that Bart Shapiro, its former director of mortgage settlement and the person in charge of administering the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), has moved into a new position at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Shapiro will serve as a senior advisor for the Office of Community Banks and Credit Unions at the CFPB. He joins a growing staff of CFPB officials who are led by current Special Advisor Raj Date, pending a confirmation hearing for former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray as director, which has been postponed until September 6.

Recently, the CFPB has worked to consolidate the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and RESPA mortgage disclosure documents to create a form that consumers can better understand. The bureau has released three rounds of new mortgage disclosure form drafts for consumer and industry feedback, and has said it will likely release two more before settling on the new forms.

Written by Elizabeth Ecker