New York’s Banking Chief Takes Aim at Consumer Protection Fouls (Corrected)

Among Linda Lacewell’s first moves upon taking over as New York’s superintendent of financial services was to combine her agency’s broader consumer protection and financial frauds unit with the “sharpshooters” in its enforcement division.

The creation of the new Consumer Protection and Financial Enforcement Unit in late April is just part of Lacewell’s plan to renew the state’s focus on consumer protection as the federal government, and particularly the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, pull back on their enforcement efforts.

“The goal was to supercharge the consumer protection division with what I like to call the sharpshooters from the banking enforcement ...