Harvard Law Prof's 'Lightning Bolts' are Losing Power Over Financial Firms, Analyst Says
The frightening prospect to those in the financial industry of seeing a well-known Harvard University law professor at the helm of a proposed new federal consumer watchdog is lessening by the day.
Legislative support for creating the independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency proposed by President Barack Obama is rapidly waning, reports Reuters. And, although they may not be able to prevent the president from appointing professor Elizabeth Warren, a well-known consumer advocate who now chairs a panel overseeing a $700 billion federal financial bailout program, as the CFPA head, lawmakers appear likely to lessen her power by reducing the agency’s authority.
“CFPA is losing steam by the day right now,” policy analyst Joseph Engelhard of the Capital Alpha Partners investment advisory firm, predicting that the agency will be created in a “watered down” manner. “The days of Elizabeth Warren raining down lightning bolts on the financial industry are waning.”
