The CFPB is looking out for families, workers, and communities
Today, I was sworn in as Director of the CFPB. I am honored to lead this organization, which plays an essential role within the Federal Reserve System. Here’s what I shared with our staff and my fellow financial regulators:
To: Staff of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Members of the Financial Stability Oversight Council
Date: October 12, 2021
A few moments ago, I was honored to be sworn in as CFPB Director. I am grateful for the opportunity to lead such an outstanding organization.
This is an extremely fragile moment for our economy and our country. We have experienced an uneven recovery, as many families and businesses continue to feel left behind. COVID-19 has also put into clearer focus the longstanding systemic and structural barriers we must overcome to build a more inclusive economy.
Our agency plays an essential role within the Federal Reserve System to safeguard household financial stability. Congress has entrusted the CFPB with tackling many of the pain points that families experience in their financial lives.
To fulfill our mission, we must ensure the financial marketplace meets the needs of all families, workers, and communities. We must use our tools to promote competition and shift market power toward consumers and law-abiding businesses. We must strive for a marketplace where families are treated fairly and can seek help when they’re in trouble. And most importantly, we must anticipate emerging risks so we can act before a crisis, rather than acting after it is too late.
All of this depends on the work of the CFPB’s staff. As one of the CFPB’s first employees more than a decade ago, I know firsthand that our agency is chock-full of talented and dedicated individuals, whose work has meaningfully improved the lives of those in our country. I also want to ensure the CFPB is an employer of choice for exceptional, mission-driven individuals. Most importantly, I am eager to lead an enterprise where everyone can contribute to meet the challenges we face as an agency and country, and where no one is excluded based on their background, their title, or their degree.
I am particularly grateful to Dave Uejio for his service as Acting Director these past nine months. We will continue to build on the work he has already started on racial equity and pandemic response. We are fortunate that he will continue to be a part of our team until he is confirmed as Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing & Equal Opportunity.
I ask for your patience and grace during this leadership transition, made more difficult by the pandemic. I’m looking forward to meeting you over the coming weeks and months to discuss how we can meet this moment. It’s great to be back.