The Senate voted 50-49 to confirm Kathy Kraninger, President Donald Trump’s choice to succeed Richard Cordray as the second permanent head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She will take the reins from acting director Mick Mulvaney after being sworn in Monday evening by Vice President Mike Pence.
Kraninger has been serving as the associate director for General Government at the Office of Management and Budget, where she oversees $250 billion in budgetary resources for seven cabinet departments and 30 other federal agencies, including the Department of the Treasury, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The industry was hopeful about her appointment after the cloture vote that all but sealed her confirmation.
Associations too poured out their support when the confirmation was made official on Dec. 6.
“The American Land Title Association and its members look forward to working with Kathy Kraninger and the bureau’s staff to help provide positive and compliant real estate settlement experiences for consumers and lenders, and serve as a resource on important issues such as wire transfer fraud, third-party oversight and mortgage disclosures,” said Cornelia Horner, ALTA’s interim CEO, in a statement. “As the bureau transitions to new leadership, we are hopeful Director Kraninger and her team will address the inaccurate disclosure of title insurance fees under the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures rule. While the bureau’s disclosures have helped homebuyers better understand their mortgage costs, consumers would value their disclosures more if the bureau showed the accurate costs of title insurance. The bureau has an obligation to make this simple change, so consumers receive accurate information about title insurance at closing.”
The American Bankers Association also congratulated Kraninger on her confirmation.
“We congratulate Kathleen Kraninger on her Senate confirmation to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and look forward to working with her to ensure consumers have access to and can make independent and informed choices among a wide variety of responsible financial products and services,” said Rob Nichols, president and CEO of the American Bankers Association, in a statement. “We learned during her nomination hearing that she believes in promoting competition and appropriately tailoring regulations by taking into account both costs and benefits. We share those views, and believe those principles will benefit consumers while allowing banks to better serve their customers and innovate.
“We also appreciate the bureau’s reforms and outreach efforts under acting director Mick Mulvaney, particularly his work to gather input from stakeholders across the spectrum to make sure that rules and regulations are protecting consumers and promoting choice in the financial marketplace,” he continued. “Kraninger's management experience, her years of work on Capitol Hill and leadership roles in the executive branch will help her run the bureau efficiently and hold it accountable to the American people. We wish her well in this important role.”