“I think this is a serious nominee that the administration expects to actively lead the bureau,” Idziak told Mortgage Professional America. “And I think for industry on the policy front, we could see the pending rulemaking that industry has advocated for enacted. So I think from an industry perspective this could be a big positive because there’s a lot of regulation that really needs to be revised and amended, and we’ll hopefully see that.”
Leading a more active CFPB
Idziak said Johnson’s background and qualifications are strong, and he doesn’t believe that he would be willing to accept the nomination if he wasn’t going to actually run the bureau.
“I think given his biography, I don’t think he would have accepted the position if it were just a figurehead and that the administration would continue to sort of not do anything with the bureau,” Idziak said. “So I think that his nomination signals that you should see some activity from the CFPB, which, given his history, is not necessarily a bad thing for industry.”
Idziak said one of the central frustrations for mortgage brokers and lenders is that the Chopra-era rules have not changed. Enforcement and supervision have pulled back, but the underlying regulations remain in place.
“If you get a Democratic administration in 2029, they may decide to go back during this period, knowing that enforcement had sort of ebbed, and really take a close look at this,” Idziak said. “So for the mortgage lending industry, it’s very important that the rules themselves are amended when this opportunity presents itself.”
