On Monday, the Supreme Court lifted oversight restrictions over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, allowing the president to fire the director without cause. The vote was 5 to 4—the Supreme Court said the bureau’s structure violated the Constitution.
The Industry’s Response:
The National Association of REALTORS® sent the following message to its members:
“The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that the single-director structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is unconstitutional. With this decision, the bureau’s director can no longer be removed from the position only for cause but instead will serve at the discretion of the president at will.
“For REALTORS®, the most notable outcome is that the decision does not invalidate the CFPB as a whole and ensures the bureau will operate with a director who serves at the will of the president moving forward.
“Late last year, the National Association of REALTORS® submitted an amicus curiae brief, along with the National Association of Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers Association, calling for the Supreme Court to cause the least possible disruption to the nation’s housing and real estate markets with this ruling. Today’s announcement is in line with NAR’s advocacy and should result in minimal disruption to the role of the CFPB and its past and future actions.”
Mortgage Bankers of America President and CEO Bob Broeksmit, released the following statement:
“MBA believes that severing the provision related to the independence of the CFPB’s Director was the appropriate remedy if the Court found the Bureau’s structure to be unconstitutional. While we may not agree with every action the Bureau has taken in the past, today’s ruling will ensure the Bureau’s rules that our members and the nation’s consumers have come to rely on remain in place. We look forward to continuing conversations on the best structure for the CFPB as it fulfills its important statutory mandates to create strong consumer protections and promote financial opportunity.”
