Our Team

In the months since the CFPB officially opened its doors, the Bureau has been moving at full speed to engage consumers and bring greater transparency to the financial marketplace. We’ve been hard at work building our consumer response system, creating our Know Before You Owe campaigns, and forming a strong foundation for our supervision, examination, fair lending, and enforcement teams. In addition to these efforts, we have been focused on standing up the CFPB’s Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI). (more…)

The CFPB is building an Office of Research to support its commitment to evidence-based policymaking. The research office will produce new findings that deepen our understanding of the problems that consumers, firms, and markets encounter. It will also help the CFPB conduct rigorous policy evaluations, which in turn will help maximize our effectiveness in addressing these problems and minimize unintended consequences.

Today, the consumer bureau announced that Sendhil Mullainathan will serve as Assistant Director for Research and lead the work of the Office of Research. Mullainathan brings a wealth of relevant experience, including as Professor of Economics at Harvard University. Sendhil has received a MacArthur Foundation “genius award,” as well as numerous other grants and fellowships, including from the National Science Foundation, the Olin Foundation, the Sloan Foundation, and the Russell Sage Foundation.

Under Sendhil’s leadership, the Office of Research will conduct research on a variety of topics and, in many cases, publish findings under the consumer bureau’s name. Frequently, though, researchers will choose their own topics, data, and methodology themselves, draw their own conclusions, and publish in their own names.

Like other federal regulatory agencies, we encourage this kind of “self-directed” research because it promotes evidence-based, rather than myopic or narrow, policymaking. Self-directed research will help us remain true to the core values that underpin our policymaking: honest investigation, independent thinking, and open discussion.

By offering our research staff the opportunity to pursue original ideas, the CFPB will also be in a better position to attract the best-trained researchers with the skills to strengthen our understanding of the benefits and costs of potential policies. Under the CFPB’s research policy:

• Researchers may elect to dedicate a substantial portion of their time to self-directed research. They may focus on household finance or behavior, consumer financial firms or markets, or other areas relevant to the mission of the consumer bureau. Other federal financial regulators also provide researchers time for independent research. For example, the portion of time provided at the CFPB will be comparable to that provided across the Federal Reserve System. Researchers who choose to conduct independent research will be evaluated based on research performance, such as their record of publications.
• Researchers are also encouraged to publish or present their work in peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly venues. The CFPB will not review or censor findings of self-directed research presented externally for policy content, so long as the researcher includes a disclaimer that the work does not necessarily represent the views of the CFPB.

Encouraging original inquiry and independent conclusions will help us act wisely on behalf of the American people. Allowing researchers to publish their findings will increase transparency – and that will help the public to hold us accountable. We are excited to get started.

Raj Date is the Associate Director for Research, Markets, and Regulations.

We’re looking for highly motivated individuals who want to make a difference and be part of an important mission: helping consumers. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is a brand-new 21st century agency with responsibility for making markets for consumer financial products and services work for Americans. To help carry out that mission, we will supervise the largest and most complex banks, thrifts, and credit unions in the country, along with different types of non-bank consumer financial services companies. CFPB examiners will be responsible for conducting examinations at these organizations to ensure that they comply with Federal consumer financial protection laws and regulations – including laws prohibiting unfair, deceptive, abusive, or discriminatory acts or practices – and that they operate their compliance management programs responsibly.

While we are still in the process of making final determinations about how many examiners we will eventually bring on board, here are some things you should know:

Where will the examiners work?

Examiners will travel to conduct on-site examinations. Since they are frequently on the road, they are generally allowed to live wherever they like. Other work will be conducted from an examiner’s home and at the CFPB’s regional hub locations. We will be particularly interested in candidates from the areas of New York, San Francisco, and Chicago, as these will be our regional hubs. There will also be opportunities at our headquarters office in Washington, D.C.

What are the qualifications?

We are looking for a broad range of skills and experiences. The most important attributes will be strong analytical and communication skills, a strong work ethic, and a commitment to consumer protection. We encourage everyone from seasoned examiners to recent graduates to apply.

Where can someone apply?

Interested candidates should visit our Jobs page to learn more and submit their resume.

Peggy Twohig is Assistant Director for Nonbank Supervision. Steve Antonakes is Assistant Director for Large Bank Supervision.