theMReport.com Your trusted source for mortgage banking news
A recent poll revealed large support for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in many of the nation’s “battleground” states, including Montana, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Delaware, and Florida.
Conducted in February and commissioned by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, the poll showed a majority of respondents were against overhauling the CFPB–a move that could be possible should the Trump administration re-examine the Dodd-Frank Act as promised.
The biggest opposition was seen in Delaware, where 57 percent disapproved of potential efforts to overhaul the agency. In Ohio, 54 percent were opposed to the move, and in Florida, 53 percent were. The overall opposition average amongst the seven states was 51 percent.
The largest support for a CFPB overhaul was seen in Missouri, where 28 percent of respondents said they supported it.
By party, Republican respondents were more likely to support overhauling the CFPB, followed by Independents, and then Democrats. Republican support was highest in West Virginia and Delaware, where 44 percent of respondents said they supported renovating the CFPB. It was lowest in Wisconsin, where just 32 percent voiced support.
The CFPB has been under the microscope ever since November when President Trump’s transition team vowed to dismantle the Dodd-Frank Act—a bill that created the Bureau back in 2010.
Just last month, President Trump issued an executive order demanding an official review of Dodd-Frank, and Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) released a memo to change the CFPB director position into a presidential appointee. Previously, Hensarling proposed the Financial CHOICE Act—a bill that offers an alternative to the Dodd-Frank Act. Also in February, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. John Ratcliffe introduced a bill designed to end the agency altogether, and the European Union came out against changes to Dodd-Frank.
Barney Frank, former Representative and one of the namesakes of Dodd-Frank, recently offered his take on the situation to MReport.
"I think this is just confirmation that he [Trump] believes we shouldn't regulate the financial industry,” Frank said. “Instead, he's going to make people in business very happy."
