President Trump is seriously considering nominating NCUA Chairman J. Mark McWatters as CFPB director, according to sources inside the credit union industry.
McWatters has been interviewed for the position and a background check is underway, one source told CU Times. If all goes well for McWatters, the nomination could be announced as early as next week, the source said.
Through an NCUA spokesperson, McWatters declined comment.
White House officials believe that McWatters could be more easily confirmed by the Senate because he has been confirmed before—as a member of the NCUA board, the source said. In addition, President Obama nominated McWatters as chairman of the Export-Import Bank. McWatters was never confirmed because some Republican senators, including then-Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.)– oppose the bank.
The NCUA chairman’s position has been open since Richard Cordray resigned to run for governor of Ohio. Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney has been serving as acting director, although that choice has been challenged in federal court.
McWatters would likely be closely aligned with the Trump Administration’s regulatory regime. He is a former counsel to House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), a longtime opponent of the CFPB’s aggressive enforcement under Cordray’s leadership.
McWatters is already on the record as opposing some CFPB rules.
In a May letter to Cordray, McWatters asked the agency to issue clear guidance to credit unions concerning the CFPB’s use of its powers to take enforcement actions based on Unfair, Deceptive or Abusive Acts or Practices and to use its exemption powers to exempt credit unions from certain rules.
The appointment has other ramifications. First, it would leave the NCUA board with one member, Rick Metsger, a Democrat whose term technically has expired. He can continue to serve until Trump nominates a replacement.
It also is unclear how the banking industry would react to such a choice. On the one hand, bankers likely would approve of McWatters’s regulatory philosophy. On the other hand, Trump would be selecting someone with close ties to the credit union industry.
