The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is still in limbo as far as finding someone to be its chief. The reason is political.
On Dec. 8, 2011, Republicans in the Senate have successfully blocked the appointment of Richard Corday, and contend the CFPB should be controlled by a five member board instead of a single person. This stems partially from the fact that although the CFPB was created by the Dodd-Frank Act, and has become law, the rules for that implementation have not been completed formulated. Corday is a former Attorney General of Ohio and was nominated for the position by President Obama in July 2011.
This is the case for much of Dodd-Frank. Only about 20% of the Act has been implemented which means a huge body of actual rules have yet to be decided upon. There are numerous points of contention in just the mortgage areas of the law.
The political angle comes up because of the presidential election a year from now. Republicans seem intent on stalling as much of Dodd-Frank as they can, and hope to repeal some or all of it if they win the White House in 2012.
Meanwhile, those of us in the mortgage industry are following the developments and preparing for the worst (or best depending on your viewpoint!).