Raj Date, one of the CFPB director candidates being floated around, said at a conference earlier this week that the agency’s policymaking process would be fact-driven.

“We have a lot of tools,” he said. When the bureau does write rules, it will be through a very deliberative, fact-based process, Mr. Date said.

He added that he sees a lot of room for new research on consumer finance and that new data will help drive policy decisions. Last month, the bureau hired Harvard University economist Sendhil Mullainathan, a leading behavioral economist, to serve as the agency’s assistant director for research.