Elizabeth Warren Explores 2020 Presidential Run

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) announced earlier this week that she is formally exploring the viability of a run for President in the 2020 election. Sen. Warren formed an exploratory committee to conduct the review.

Sen. Warren was very heavily involved in the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). She strongly critized the appointment of Mick Mulvaney as the Bureau's Acting Director after the resignation of Former Director Richard Cordray. Likewise, Sen. Warren unsuccessfully advocated against the confirmation of Director Kathy Kraninger, who currently leads the CFPB.

Earlier this year when the CFPB's student loan ombudsman resigned, Sen. Warren joined several other democratic senators demanding answers from former Acting Director Mulvaney about the allegations made in the ombudsman's resignation letter. The letter included an allegation that the CFPB's leadership at that time swept under the rug a report that large institutions were targeting college students with "legally dubious account fees."

insideARM Perspective

The ARM industry -- and the financial services industry as a whole -- can expect a lot of scrutnity under a Warren presidency. With Sen. Warren's strong negative views of financial services companies, it wouldn't be surprising if the rate of rulemaking, enforcement, and oversight shot the roof under her administration.

One thing of note is that Director Kraninger was only recently sworn in and, with a five year term, will continue to serve as the CFPB's Director until the end of 2023 -- about half of the presidential term for whoever wins the 2020 election. The face-off that occured in the overlap of President Donald Trump's presidency and Former Director Cordray's tenure may occur again in its inverse if Warren wins the election and Kraninger remains as the CFPB's director.

It is still far too soon to tell what could happen in a couple years, but this avenue might put the industry on a wild ride.