Obama Eyes Ex-Banker for Consumer Chief
The Barack Obama intends to appoint Date Raj, a former banker at Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) and Deutsche Bank AG, as Head of Office for the Protection of the consumer, according to a person informed about the process.
Date is already in the office of consumers, working as vice over to Elizabeth Warren, Councillor Obama administration, which is setting up the new agency. It is on a shortlist of candidates to become director, the person said.
Obama has not made a final decision on whom to appoint to the post, which requires Senate confirmation, the person said.The agency is to begin formal operations on July 21, one year after the overhaul Obama signed Dodd-Frank financial regulation in the law.
Date nomination could be a way for the Obama administration to settle political controversy over the direction of the Consumer Agency, which is one of the masterpieces of Frank-Dodd. Warren could urge his followers to endorse his appointment, and experience in the industry has been welcomed by the banks that fall under the supervision of the Bureau.
However, after 44 Republican senators announced last month they would not vote to approve any candidate to run the office without changing its structure, the White House may have to resort to a temporary appointment for a suspension of Congress . Sixty of the 100 senators are actually required to vote for a candidate because of procedural rules.
Massachusetts SenateWhile Warren did not specify his plans, some Democratic Party officials and urged the supporters to run for U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Scott Brown.
"The president is considering a number of candidates for this position and no decision has been made," said Jen Psaki, a spokeswoman for the White House. Consumer Affairs Office spokesman Jennifer Howard declined to comment on. Date did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
Date, 40, earned an engineering degree from the University of California at Berkeley and a law degree from Harvard University. He was senior vice president of strategy and development at Capital One and a general manager in the Financial Institutions Group at Deutsche Bank.During the debate on Dodd-Frank, director of the Centre Date Winter Cambridge Policy of Financial Institutions, a research group he founded.