The Miami Herald endorses Elizabeth Warren for the permanent CFPB job.

Sheila Blair and Elizabeth Warren don’t want to scare community bankers.  From the story:

White House adviser Elizabeth Warren and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair on Tuesday sought to ease bankers’ anxiety about the sweeping Dodd-Frank financial overhaul and the new consumer watchdog agency it created.

Warren and Bair delivered separate speeches in San Diego, where thousands of community bankers and industry leaders have gathered for an Independent Community Bankers of America national convention.

Both officials argued that the new financial regulatory landscape will benefit the nation’s smaller banks.

Warren says it’s all about enforcement.  From the story:

“More than half” of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s budget will go toward supervising and enforcing consumer protection rules, said Elizabeth Warren, the White House adviser charged with setting up the nation’s new consumer watchdog agency.

The bureau, set to launch in July to protect consumers from abusive financial practices, will supervise the nation’s largest banks–firms with more than $10 billion in assets. But the consumer protection agency will also need to ensure that thousands of companies that aren’t banks but still offer financial products such as pay day loans, mortgages, student loans and check-cashing services follow federal consumer protection rules as well.

Yup, a new description of Elizabeth Warren.  This one is a self-description.

Not former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm. From the story:

Jennifer Granholm, the former Michigan governor, turned down an overture from the Obama administration to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to two people briefed on the matter.

Granholm, who left office on Jan. 1 after two terms as governor, is an instructor in law, public policy and business at the University of California at Berkeley, according to a Jan. 24 announcement from the university.

Administration officials also discussed recruiting former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland for the post, said one of the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks aren’t public. Strickland, who lost his bid for re-election last year, said today that he wasn’t approached about the job.

Could mess up your ability to get credit.

She’s planning on speaking to the Chamber of Commerce on March 30.

Looks like the CFPB is going to tackle credit card application forms.  From the AP: 

The government’s new watchdog wants consumers to have a complete picture of a card’s costs before they apply — including its exact interest rate and credit line. Currently those terms aren’t determined until after an application is processed.

WBUR in Boston is talking about them: 

But will Obama nominate Warren? One of the two architects of financial reform legislation, Rep. Barney Frank, isn’t sure the president wants to. Speaking on NBC this morning (as noted by The Hill) Frank said, “I think the president is too unwilling to make the kind of fights that don’t necessarily win. And I’m not sure she couldn’t be [confirmed].”

The Newton Democrat also said “the fight over Elizabeth Warren would be worth having.”

Of course, the consumer board directorship is not the only job some Massachusetts residents are eyeing for Warren. Many Democrats see her as a coveted challenger for Scott Brown’s Senate seat — an idea she hasn’t “slammed shut.”

From the Wall Street Journal:

Capito: Yesterday’s hearing with Elizabeth Warren and the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) I think is an indicator of — and you could see this from the questioning — the oversight function of the committee.

 This is a bureau that’s rolling out, and it’s I think uncertain to the reach, uncertain if the exemptions can hold up, uncertain as to whether — well I don’t think there’s any uncertainty here — the fact that there’s not enough congressional oversight over the CFPB now and in its future, whether it’s the funding mechanisms or who that person who’s the head of that is really going to answer to. I think there’s a lot of question about timing issues. We’re looking at a July start date for this. There’s been no appointment, there’s been no … any action of Senate confirmation, and that’s worrisome not just from a congressional standpoint but that’s what we’re hearing about from our constituents – where’s the enforcement mechanism? Who’s going to be overseeing? Is there going to be enforcement even if there’s not even going to be a head. Is that legal and all sorts of things.