Raj Date

Website: www.consumerfinance.gov

Why it exists: The CFPB was created with the mission of improving consumer financial products and services markets for Americans. According its website, the CFPB has boiled down its mission down to three words: Educate, enforce and study. This means working to ensure that consumers are equipped with information to make better financial decisions and eliminating unfair, deceptive and abusive practices.

In a statement released in July, Elizabeth Warren--who conceived the idea for the bureau--said that "From the very start, we have been committed to accountability and to actively engaging the public in the agency's work."

Developments in 2011: The CFPB's rulemaking powers began in July 2011 with Raj Date acting as temporary bureau chief. On 18 July, 2011, President Obama nominated Richard Corday to be the first permanent CFPB director. Corday's nomination is pending Senate confirmation.

Given the relative newness of the agency, the CFPB is working hard to meet its Dodd-Frank requirements. On day one, the CFPB issued a press release outlining its first steps towards protecting consumers.  These initiatives included sending letters to executives at companies subject to CFPB oversight and accepting credit card complaints online via www.consumerfinance.gov.

Other initiatives include:

• Launching "Know Before You Owe," a program designed to combine federally required mortgage disclosures into a simpler form and clarify the costs and risks of loans.
• Assembling a focus group of industry experts, consumer activists, and academic and government representatives to review effects of the 2009 CARD Act, which was designed to promote fairness and transparency in the credit card industry.
• Publishing reports on credit scores, remittances and correspondences to small bank owners across the country.
• Using social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube to engage with customers through 21^st century technology.

For more:
-see the Building the CFPB report