Consumer Bureau hires outgoing Ohio attorney general

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has made one of its first big hires, bringing on board Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head its enforcement division, according to media reports.

Cordray, a Democrat and vocal bank critic who led the effort on the state level to explore mortgage foreclosure practices, will join the brand new bureau after losing his reelection bid to Republican Mike DeWine, Reuters reported.

A spokesman at the state attorney general's office could not confirm the report, only saying Cordray has scheduled a meeting with local reporters to discuss his plans for future public service. The administration is expected to announce the selection Wednesday.

Problems surrounding the foreclosure process have been the subject of several high-profile hearings on Capitol Hill, with lawmakers taking federal housing regulators to task for failing to predict or prevent widespread documentation problems emerging during foreclosure proceedings.

The bureau, which will not be officially established until next July, is currently being built up by Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard law professor that was tapped to be the special adviser to the president and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Its creation as part of the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory reform law was strongly opposed by banks but was backed by consumer advocacy groups.