NCUA Chairman Hood expected to be replaced. Director of the CFPB announced her resignation.

WASHINGTON–On his first day in office President Biden signed a number of executive orders, several of which are aimed at the economy and that will have effects on credit unions and their members.

Separately, the director of the CFPB announced her resignation.

Biden has placed a special emphasis on the federal government’s response to the pandemic. The success of that effort will have a bearing on members’ and all Americans’ economic situation and will affect lending, when branches may reopen, when employees may return to work and more.

In addition to first day executive orders restoring federal employees' collective bargaining rights and directing agency action on safety net programs, including Medicaid and unemployment insurance, Biden is expected to sign executive orders that extend the nationwide moratorium on evictions and foreclosures until at least March 31, and extending the pause on student loan payments and interest for borrowers with federal student loans until at least September 30.

Other Orders Signed

Biden also:

• Signed an executive order requiring branch appointees to sign an ethics pledge barring them from acting in personal interest and requiring them to uphold the independence of the Department of Justice.
• Signed an order directing the director of the Office of Management and Budget to develop recommendations to modernize regulatory review and to undo the process put in place by President Trump.
•  Signed an executive order directing federal agencies to deliver plans to address barriers to advancement as well as mandating the Office of Management and Budget to more equitably allocate federal resources to communities of color.

“Additional actions in the coming weeks will restore and reinvigorate the federal government’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility,” an administration official told the New York Times.

NCUA under Chairman Rodney Hood has put an emphasis on DEI.

Hood is expected to be replaced as soon as today as chairman of the agency by Democrat and board member Todd Harper.  Hood will remain on the board along with Kyle Hauptman, both of whom are Republican appointees.

CFPB Director Resigns

Separately, Kathleen Kraninger has, at the request of Biden, resigned  as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Kraninger was named by President Trump in 2018 to lead the Bureau in a term that was supposed to run through 2023. Kraninger herself helped in part to make the firing possible, having supported a challenge to the CFPB's Constitionaity over the power of the president to replace its director. The court ruled in favor of the challenge, paving the way for Biden to replace Kraninger.

As CUToday.info reported here, Biden has nominated Rohit Chopra to lead the CFPB.

NAFCU Response

“NAFCU thanks Director Kraninger for her leadership at the CFPB and commitment to strengthening the financial services system,” said NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger. “We appreciate her receptiveness to hearing credit unions' perspective during her tenure, taking several of our concerns into consideration in the bureau's regulatory efforts, and support for industry's mission to provide safe, affordable financial products and services to its 123 million members. We will continue to work closely with the bureau as credit unions' voice at the federal level.”

CUToday