While most of the attention so far has focused on who will be the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, would-be employees are increasingly anxious about how and when the agency plans to fill the lower ranks.
With little more than a month until the bureau assumes its powers, regulators whose responsibilities will be transferred to the agency say privately they have been left in the dark about the hiring process and where they will fit in with the CFPB. Although some offers have finally begun going out over the last two weeks, industry observers said it's still unclear if the bureau will be fully operational on July 21.
"The time is terrifyingly tight," said Jo Ann Barefoot, a co-director at Treliant Risk Advisors. "There's a great deal of concern about the possibility of either understaffing or not getting people with good enough examination and supervision experience, people who are going to need to be trained on the job. So we're at a pivotal moment."
The bureau expects to hire about 1,500 employees over the next several years. That includes about 300 employees who will come from the other banking regulators, primarily from the Federal Reserve, according to a report from the Congressional Budget Office.
To date, the bureau has only hired about 200 people, approximately 50 of whom are only temporary employees detailed from other federal agencies, according to information provided by CFPB. It expects to have several hundred on board by the end of July.
Most of that hiring has occurred from the top down, including more than two dozen managers of the CFPB's various offices and departments. (They did not disclose exactly which departments those new hires have gone to.) As of Friday, the bureau had 33 jobs posted for positions in Washington, New York, San Francisco and Chicago. These open slots include everything from senior economists to regional directors to chief financial officer.
In March, the bureau also put out a broad call through its blog for applicants for its supervision team. It has received thousands of applications from across the country. "We've been very lucky in terms of just the raw horsepower of the people that we've managed to attract," said Raj Date, the bureau's associate director for research markets and regulation, and a former executive at Capital One and Deutsche Bank.
But observers questioned how much hiring the bureau can -- or should -- do without someone setting the tone at the top. Elizabeth Warren, its de facto director, has already left her fingerprints all over CFPB by hand-picking its key players over the last nine months. But the administration has yet to nominate a permanent director despite pressure from Democrats and consumer advocates.
As the transfer date approaches, it's becoming less clear that Warren will be the permanent pick, said Mark Calabria, a director of financial regulations studies at the Cato Institute and former top aide to Sen. Richard Shelby.
Without a director, the bureau would only assume some of its authority, and staffing demands may not be as pressing. Still, dragging out the appointment of a permanent director could undermine the ability of the agency to do its job, he said.
