Newsroom

February 14, 2012

Cordray attends first financial literacy meeting

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray yesterday attended his first meeting of the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, which included a panel discussion on "smart disclosures" that may find their way into future efforts affecting future proposals for financial services disclosures to consumers.

A "smart disclosure" is the release of data in useable forms that enable consumers to compare and choose between complex services, including financial services.

Chris Vein, deputy chief technology officer in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, highlighted two important sources of data that could be used going forward to create smart disclosures for financial products or services: government data and private sector data. Treasury's Sophie Raseman discussed smart disclosure tools used now in other industries – such as the website kayak.com, which allows searches for travel arrangements – that could serve as an example for financial services.

Cordray gave brief introductory remarks during the meeting, his first as a member of FLEC. Cyrus Amir-Mokri, Treasury's assistant secretary for financial institutions, said employers should consider supporting financial literacy, which helps reduce stress and staff turnover. The commission plans to recommend that the government take the lead and encourage agencies to provide financial literacy/education resources to their employees.

The commission includes representatives from 19 other federal agencies and regulators, including NCUA. NAFCU Regulatory Affairs Counsel Dillon Shea, who maintains a dialog with Treasury on financial literacy matters, attended Tuesday's meeting.