Top CFPB official withdraws support from someone appointed to political office over past writings

The Head of the Fair Loans Bureau of the Office of Consumer Financial Protection said Friday that she had serious doubts about the plan to restructure her office after reading blog posts written more than a decade ago by a leading collaborator.

Patrice Ficklin, Director of the CFPB's Fair Loans Office, e-mailed the staff Friday afternoon telling her that she no longer supported Eric Blankenstein, the CFPB's director of policy for oversight, 39, application and fair financing. The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Blankenstein had written in blogs 14 years ago that a majority of hate crimes were hoaxes and that the use of a racial insult did not make necessarily someone racist.

Ficklin was originally quoted by the post in favor of Blankenstein, but in her email on Friday, she had stated that she had not read the blog posts at that time and that she had not read the article. she now had her support.

"I've had experiences that raise concerns that are now quite alarming in light of the content of his blog posts – experiences that question Eric's ability and intent to lead to its repeated commitment, but repeated but unfounded, to continue loan program under current jurisprudence, "she wrote in an email copy of which was obtained by American Banker.

Ficklin called on CFPB acting director Mick Mulvaney to suspend a proposal to reorganize the agency's office for fair lending and equal opportunities.

"Given my concerns, I am asking the Acting Director to suspend the proposal to reorganize the Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity. I am no longer convinced that the Bureau's obligation to apply fair lending laws will be faithfully implemented in the currently reorganized structure, "she wrote.

Mr Blankenstein is a politician appointed by Mulvaney at the beginning of the year to work alongside career CFPB staff to ensure that the Trump Administration Program is adopted. In February, Mulvaney sought to strip the Fair Loans Bureau of its law enforcement authority and eliminate it from monitoring and enforcement, a division that Blankenstein currently runs. Although the move was partially delayed by a dispute with the CFPB union, Blankenstein is still listed as the boss of Ficklin in the agency's organizational chart.

The CFPB declined to comment on this article.

In his writings, Blankenstein described the proposal by the University of Virginia as "racial idiocy" to impose harsh penalties for acts of intolerance.

In the blog, he wrote: "Good. . . Let's say they called it —–, "the Post reported, noting that Blankenstein had explained the link. "Would that make them racist, or just a ——–?"

Blankenstein stated that his past writings had no bearing on his current role. Ficklin seemed to reject this point of view.

"After the article appeared, I started reading his posts and I was struck by how they reminded me of the debates we had with Eric on issues of supervision and enforcement, "she wrote. "I strongly believe that Eric, like the rest of us, has the right to have his own political views and that he has the authority to make political decisions. "What I find appalling, however, is the tone and framing of these views in his blog posts."

She said the writings showed contempt for African Americans, the LGBTQ community and other minority groups.

"The tone and framing are deeply disturbing and offensive to me as a woman, African-American, LGBTQ rights advocate and human being," Ficklin wrote. "They are far from civil discourse, and I am disappointed that Eric has not expressed regret about the tone and setting of his remarks made 14 years ago, and I am deeply disappointed that his quote in the The Post's article does not contain any statement on his part expressing support for a vigorous equitable lending program ".

Ficklin stated that she had not had time to read the blog articles before asking to support her colleague.

"When Eric Blankenstein asked me to make a statement in his favor with the Washington Post, I gave up everything I did during my leave to honor his request," she said. "Because he asked me to send him the statement by noon if possible, I did not read his blog posts before writing my quote."

The CFPB Fair Loans Office is still on the organization chart as an equal division of oversight and enforcement. Ficklin is on the list of Deputy Directors of Equitable Loans and Equal Opportunities, reporting to Blankenstein.

Blankenstein spent six months in the US Trade Representative's Office before joining the CFPB earlier this year. He previously worked for ten years at the law firm Williams & Connolly. Although Blankenstein is technically the boss of Ficklin, his email suggests that he is still getting acquainted with the fair lending laws.

"My experience with Eric involved compromises, as we learned from loan jurisprudence and statistical methods," she wrote.

After the story of the Post, Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, criticized the blog posts, arguing that Blankenstein had to resign given his opinions.

"These blog posts are obnoxious, reprehensible and disgusting," Brown said in a statement released on Friday. "Giving Blankenstein the responsibility for loan equity was a serious moral and managerial failure, and it must go away." The CFPB should be on the front line to fight and prevent predatory lending practices, including including a very real financial discrimination that occurs too often in America today.There can be no place in the agency for people who do not believe that discrimination is real or that poses a serious problem . "

Ficklin is a long-time CFPB official. Under the Obama administration, Ficklin's Loyal Loans office has taken several coercive measures, including citing some of the largest indirect auto lenders for unintentional discrimination under a legal theory called disparate impact. Republicans have published reports challenging the theory and methodology created by the CFPB when it decided not to use the method cited by other banking regulators for discriminatory loans.