[Maybe yes, maybe no. But it always makes me feel warm and hopeful when the fat boys are nervous]
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/11/18/elizabeth-warren-plenty-of-power/
November 18, 2010, 3:53 PM ET
Wall Street Journal Blogs: Washington Wire
Elizabeth Warren: Plenty of Power
By Victoria McGrane and Maya Jackson Randall
Just how much muscle the new Consumer Financial Protection bureau and
its temporary leader, Elizabeth Warren, have before it gets its full
powers and a permanent director next year is a matter of some angst in
Washington and on Wall Street.
On Thursday, a key Treasury official said that Ms. Warren and her
fledgling bureau have quite a bit of authority including the ability to
start the rule-writing process. The bureau can engage undertake
studies, solicit feedback from the public and I think even putting out
proposals, Treasury's General Counsel George Madison said at a
luncheon.
The bureaus current power does not, however, extend to issuing final
rules, he said. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has set July 21,
2011, as the date the consumer agency will receive all of the consumer
protection authority from existing federal regulators, making that the
target for having the bureau up and running at full speed.
Mr. Madison said he expects a permanent director to be named by then.
President Barack Obama tapped Ms. Warren, a Harvard law professor who
has been urging such an agency for years, to launch the bureau, but it
remains unclear who he will nominate as its first official director.
But Mr. Madisons comments to the Women in Housing and Finance suggest
that the bureau -- which has broad new powers to write rules for
mortgages, credit cards and other financial products -- can do most of
the heavy lifting before the so-called transfer date, a prospect thats
likely to make many in the financial industry nervous.