US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to take the helm at CFPB
Credit: DCStockPhotography / Shutterstock

The Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has been replaced with the current US Secretary of the Treasury.

US President Donald Trump made the change this week, naming Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Acting Director of the CPFB, the regulator tasked with enforcing consumer protection in US financial services.

Bessent replaces Rohit Chopra, who served as the third Director of the CFPB from October 2021, overseeing the regulator’s remit for the bulk of the Biden administration. Recent developments during his tenure covered data privacy, Open Banking and BNPL.

Pride in the rule of law

Announcing the termination of his role on X (formerly Twitter) and sharing his letter to the President, Chopra stated that he was proud the agency has ‘restored the rule of law’ in the years since 2021 and that it has helped repair the image of US regulators, which he believes was heavily damaged by the fallout from the 2007-08 financial crisis.

He also highlighted the CFPB’s clampdown on bank ‘junk fees’ – unexpected fees issued to consumers by banks and financial services firms – as a particular area of success. In addition to this, Chopra pointed to the CFPB’s proposed rules to block Chinese and Russian surveilling of US consumers via data brokers.

“I hope that the CFPB will continue to be a pillar of restoring and advancing economic liberty in America, and I wish you good luck in serving our great country,” Chopra’s letter to the President concluded.

As stated above, the final year of Chopra’s tenure has seen several key developments around financial services, fintech and payments in the US. Back in May, the CFPB opted to include BNPL firms under the same rules as credit card providers.

This was welcomed by some due to concerns around the impact the surge in popularity of BNPL amid difficult economic conditions for many consumers could have on indebtedness.

On the other hand, the BNPL sector itself was critical of the application of credit rules, with leading company Klarna – which later listed on the NYSE – describing credit and BNPL as ‘oranges and apples’.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to take the helm at CFPB
Credit: DCStockPhotography / Shutterstock

The CFPB has also had a lot to say on Open Banking and the related topic of data sharing and data privacy. New rules on data sharing covering bank accounts, credit cards, mobile wallets, payment apps, and other financial products were introduced in October 2024, which regulators and industry stakeholders hope will provide a solid framework for Open Banking in the US.

Post-Chopra, it is of course difficult to predict exactly what direction the CFPB will take under Trump-appointed Bessent. Though President Trump is an outspoken supporter of cryptocurrency, an opponent of CBDCs, and has recently commented on the AI race, his statements on areas like BNPL and Open Banking range from being unclear to nonexistent.

Bessent is a former hedge fund manager with an extensive background in financial services, making notable gains with bets against the British pound and Japanese yen while working at Soros Fund Management (SFM) in the 1990s. He would later found macroeconomic investment firm Key Square Group, which invests based on geopolitical predictions.

His fiscal policy and regulatory opinions have not been fully clarified, though his history of donating to the political campaigns of Al Gore, Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump suggest his viewpoints may be varied. He is also an enthusiastic supporter of Trump’s trade tariff policies.

Commenting on his new role as Acting Chair of the CFPB, Bessent remarked: “I look forward to working with the CFPB to advance President Trump’s agenda to lower costs for the American people and accelerate economic growth.”