Geithner turns up heat on Senate on CFPB vacancyfrom MarketW

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Geithner turns up heat on Senate on CFPB vacancyfrom MarketWatch.com - MarketPulse WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner tried Thursday to break a logjam holding up a final vote in the Senate on the president's nominee to lead the new consumer-finance agency. The nomination of Richard Cordray, the former Ohio attorney general, has been held up as Republicans try to force structural changes on the new agency. Republicans want to change the leadership structure of the agency to a five-member bipartisan commission from a single director, believing that the current structure puts too much power in the hands of one person. At a press conference, Geithner said he did not support any overhaul of the agency's structure. He said the checks and balances were adequate on the CFPB director and were the result of lengthy negotiations between Republicans and Democrats. Without a director, the reach of the CFPB is limited and it is unable to regulate pay-day lenders, and check-cashing firms, Geithner said. This creates an uneven playing field that does not benefit banks, he said.