Consumer Protection Is a Non-Partisan Issue: Warren
Protecting consumers from abusive financial practices and the burden of excessive regulation is a non-partisan issue, Elizabeth Warren, President Obama's special adviser for the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, told CNBC Wednesday.
"I just can't believe there is someone who would want to come after this new agency," Warren said. "We're not a partisan agency—we're here for American families."
Warren spoke just over a week after a sweeping Republican victory in congressional midterm elections, which returned control of the U.S. House to the GOP. Some Republicans have suggested agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, passed as part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform act, limit business interests and should be pared back.
Warren noted that recent meetings have put her before both CEOs of large financial institutions and the heads of community banks around the country, and said that her agency understands concerns about regulatory burdens.
"Let us see if we can't find a smarter way to do the regulation, because at the end of the day, the best way that this agency serves the American family is to make sure there is a robust and diversified banking system," Warren said.
She also declared that cutting the "excessive" paperwork associated with a mortgage closing and reducing the fine print in credit card and other financial agreements are top priorities for the bureau in the months ahead.
Warren, a former professor of law at Harvard University, also noted she is soliciting the input of players across the financial spectrum on what changes need to be made.
"I'm really trying to do more listening than talking," Warren said.
