Richard Cordray, the embattled director of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, announced Wednesday that he will leave the agency by the end of November.
“I am confident that you will continue to move forward, nurture this institution we have built together, and maintain its essential value to the American public,” Cordray wrote in an email to the agency’s staff.
Cordray, who has been a tough regulator of banks and other financial institutions, has been a frequent target of Republican lawmakers. Most recently, Congress killed a rule by the bureau that allowed consumers to bring class-action lawsuits against banks and credit card companies to resolve financial disputes.
Cordray was confirmed as head of the agency in 2013, nearly two years after he was nominated by President Barack Obama. The bureau’s chief architect was Elizabeth Warren, currently a U.S. senator, who had also been considered a candidate for the post. [Copyright 2017 NPR]