Elizabeth Warren Press Conference on the CFPB

Take your questions earlier today. My friend and my former colleague, rich cord re announce that he's going to resign as the director of the consumer financial protection Bureau by the end of this month, which has dedicated much of his life to protecting consumers and holding big companies accountable. I called him seven years ago. This week to ask him to help me set up this brand new agency that we work building and in the year since He has forced the biggest financial institutions in this country to return more than 12 billion dollars directly to consumers. They cheated that's government that works for the people. Um rich has record he should be proud of. I am proud of him and I have nothing but gratitude for his service from the day that the agency opened its stores the has been targeted by Republicans and their Wall Street Bank Allies they attack the agency in every turn and try to stop it from helping consumers. They tried to smear rich cord free and the good people at the agency who are just trying to make things better for working families and they are still champing at the bit to do exactly that we need to make sure that the next leader of the the build on the agencies, good work, rather than reversing. It. This is a Test for donald trump he said on the campaign trail that he would stand up to Wall Street and defend forgotten Americans that is literally the job of the Tv to stand up to Wall Street. If the President appoints another industry hack or bought and paid for politician to leave the agency, it is just the latest sign that he wants to run this government to help his rich buddies This has done great work, but there are still serious problems facing consumers hidden fees, misleading disclosures, harassing calls fake accounts. The cfpb needs a leader with a demonstrated track record of protecting consumers and holding big financial firms accountable when they cheat people. Anything less is a slap in the face to working people and with that I'm glad to take your questions. Yes, sir Perception on the right was keeping up on run official prices closely Associated with the Obama administration and they will fighting against everything he was for that because the stimulus of the time so one and that that even if this even if the agency does good things that record failed to get past, that could be Associated with that times, they government put both of your mama yeah. I that is certainly would Sit the fact, but I see it differently. Um I have problem is that the Wall Street banks really don't like the day and they have about 12 billion reasons not to like uh it cost them money. I. It makes it harder for them to build profit models around cheating. People look look at Wells fargo look at what Wells fargo was doing. They build an entire multi year business plan Around opening safe accounts and then pumping up their stock price based on the fact that they were opening all of these new account. It's the B that actually investigates and holds them accountable and that's a darn good reason for giant financial institutions, not to like them. So and I say that because I really wanna press on this point, they spend a lot of money here and more Content they hire along lobbyists, they hire lawyers. They put money into think tanks. They have bought and paid for experts just to keep up the drumbeat. That the baby is creating a problem and at its heart the problem that the is creating is it helps level the playing field between giant Wall Street banks and the American people Enough here straight doing right and what I'm saying is the part where I get more of the focus is that it's the financial banks getting what they want from their Republican friends in Congress, a sure delicious. Obviously expected okay go over is like credit moments and for their criticizing them for having the shit going Trump and staying up one, you prefer to understand why hello, when I called ridge seven years ago this week, it was to ask him to come temporarily to help set up the agency. I told them that we had under a year to get it done and would he come and set up the enforcement division because I knew he would be a great partner in doing that. He has state for seven years and devoted his life It's to making this agency work on behalf of the American people, I should nothing but gratitude to ridge Democrats. Um behind they can seem to be a bipartisan Commission or can use mind wise. We're dealing with the Republican direction of ethics so so the Commission question is fundamentally about whether the agency will work for just slow down Um look at the see there's, a five person Commission of the Sea and what happen and the many years to the run up of the financial crisis. They knew what was going on. Evidence was clear. It was everywhere and they were paralyzed. They could not move forward and the consequence was that the risk kept building that the investments were further and further out of line and ultimately they stood on the sidelines as the Large financial institutions crash this economy and tens of millions of people paid the price for them. They lost their homes. They lost their savings. They lost their jobs, their neighborhoods in America that have not yet recovered from the two thousand eight crash and may not recover for another generation that's the kind of cost that's and post in the area. Financial services um a regulator needs to be number. It doesn't take long To come out with a new product to figure out, one more way to deceive people to trick people on the mortgage and the first thing you know they sold a million of those mortgages and then it's five million of those mortgages and then it's 50 million of those mortgages and in the entire economy has been put at risk. I believe that we need a regulator on the consumer side who is nimble and able to respond to the prices as they the prices before They bring down the American economy and families all across this country. I do not sorry I guess. I should have made that point, even clear up front. Yes, I do not support a Commission sure what I don't wanna make this about. Politics, but I wanna see here is the director who has a proven track record with the ability to stand up to Wall Street and a willingness to fight On behalf of the American people, we need an agency that can function and that means a leader who understands the fundamental mission of this agency and is willing to step in and make that happen just me