CFPB chief operating officer plans move to the FHFA

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's chief operating officer will take a similar position at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, fulfilling one of the multiple recruiting goals the FHFA announced in January.

Kate Fulton, who has been at the CFPB for the past seven years, will become the COO at the FHFA on May 26. Laurence Stauffer, who has been serving as the acting COO at the FHFA, plans to assist with the transition. Previous to joining the CFPB, Fulton worked for the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and for a law firm representing federal employees.

With the spread of the coronavirus in the United States, much has changed since FHFA Director Mark Calabria included plans to find a COO in the realignment it announced early this year. Plans to overhaul Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's capital framework in line with an exit from conservatorship, for example, will likely be delayed.

While broader context may have changed, filling the COO role has become more important as the GSEs' operations and counterparties are expected to come under strain due to the economic impact of the virus and a number of public policy measures enacted to address it.

The CFPB and the FHFA also recently agreed to a partnership in which they will share mortgage servicing data.

The FHFA, which was established as part of the GSEs entry into conservatorship in 2008 following the Great Recession, originally named its first full-time COO in 2011. That COO later became embroiled in a long legal battle related to circumstances surrounding his dismissal.