2019 Consumer Protection in an Age of Uncertainty
The Consumer Protection in an Age of Uncertainty conference explored the status of consumer financial protection as it affects American borrowers, investors, small business owners, and those planning for retirement. Rich Cordray, founding director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Rohit Chopra, then-commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission, served as keynote speakers.
In panel discussions, policy-makers, litigators, regulators, and researchers illuminated the "why" behind some of the biggest consumer protection issues today, ranging from the relationship between the US Department of Education and the Federal Trade Commission, to why you have to show up in person to close a bank account, and they offered suggestions for improvement.
| 8:30-9:00 a.m. | Registration & Continental Breakfast |
| 9:00-9:30 a.m. |
Opening Remarks by Michael S. Barr, Joan and Sanford Weill Dean, Ford School of Public Policy, and Faculty Director, Center on Finance, Law, and Policy |
| 9:30-11:00 a.m. |
Panel 1: The Past and Future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Speakers: Eric Stein, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Consumer Protection, U.S. Department of the Treasury (Moderator); Mike Calhoun, President, Center for Responsible Lending; Lisa Donner, Executive Director, Americans for Financial Reform; Nick Smyth, Senior Deputy Attorney General and Assistant Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General; Peggy Twohig, Assistant Director for Supervision Policy, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Panel 1: The Past and Future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Video |
| 11:00-11:15 a.m. | Coffee Break |
| 11:15-12:45 p.m. |
Panel 2: Investor Protection. Speakers: Andrew Wu, Assistant Professor of Technology and Operations and Finance, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan (Moderator); Jane Dokko, Assistant Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago; Stephen W. Hall, Legal Director & Securities Specialist, Better Markets; Barbara Roper, Director of Investor Protection, Consumer Federation of America; Betsey Stevenson, Associate Professor, Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan |
| 12:45-2:15 p.m. |
Keynote Address & Lunch with Rich Cordray, Founding Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau |
| 2:15-3:45 p.m. |
Panel 3: Access & Financial Inclusion. Speakers: Adrienne Harris, Lecturer, Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan (Moderator); Mehrsa Baradaran, Professor, University of Georgia School of Law; William Elliott, Professor of Social Work, University of Michigan; Melissa Koide, Chief Executive Officer, FinRegLab; Lisa Servon, Professor, School of Design, University of Pennsylvania |
| 3:45-4:00 p.m. | Day 1 Concluding Remarks |
| 8:30-9:00 a.m. | Registration & Breakfast |
| 9:00-9:15 a.m. | Welcome, Reconvene, and Introduction of Keynote Speaker |
| 9:15-10:15 a.m. |
Keynote Conversation with Rohit Chopra, Federal Trade Commissioner and Michael S. Barr, Joan and Sanford Weill Dean, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan |
| 10:15-10:30 a.m. | Coffee Break |
| 10:30-Noon |
Panel 4: Problems in Consumer and Small Business Markets. Speakers: John Pottow, Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School (Moderator); Patricia McCoy, Professor of Law, Boston College; Rob Randhava, Senior Counsel, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; Lisa Rice, President & CEO, National Fair Housing Alliance; Lauren Willis, Professor of Law, Loyola Law School Los Angeles Panel 4: Problems in Consumer and Small Business Markets Video |
| 12:00-1:15 p.m. | Student Poster Presentations, Networking, and Lunch. Great Hall (directly outside the auditorium) |
| 1:15-3:00 p.m. |
Panel 5: Student Loans Address and Panel Discussion. Remarks by Wade Henderson, immediate past president of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. Panel Speakers: Samuel Levine, Chief Counsel for Consumer Protection, FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra; Joseph Sanders, Student Loan Ombudsman & Supervising Attorney, Consumer Protection Division, State of Illinois; Dan Zibel, Vice President & Chief Counsel, National Student Legal Defense Network |
| 3:00-3:30 p.m. | Closing Remarks |