By Alister Bull
Harvard Law professor Elizabeth Warren is either one of the best qualified people in America to lead President Barack Obama's new consumer financial protection bureau, or the financial industry's worst nightmare who would hound banks and crush financial innovation.
She's even inspired a rap song by the Main Street Brigade that praises "Sheriff Warren" because "she wants to expose the banks and all the greed" -- -- an example, depending on your point of view, of exactly what Wall Street is worried about or of Warren's credibility on Main Street.
Here are some questions and answers about Warren's background, qualifications and why has she is controversial:
WHY ELIZABETH WARREN?
Credited with coming up with the original idea for a U.S. consumer financial protection agency, Warren, 61, is not afraid of making enemies and has campaigned for years on behalf of consumers, writing books about why working families can no longer afford a middle-class lifestyle in America.
As chairwoman of the congressional panel overseeing the $700 billion bailout of big U.S. banks during the 2008 financial crisis, she was also critical of Wall Street.
Consumer advocates see her track record as a trial-blazing fighter for more rights as a sterling qualification.
"One of the key features recommending her is she has demonstrated a willingness to be tough on Wall Street and to stand up for consumer interests," said Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, a Washington advocacy group.
"We have a very complicated, heavily populated financial regulatory system that is replete with officials who have found excuses for Wall Street, rationalizations for Wall Street, regulatory advances for Wall Street, and who have failed to protect consumers," he said.
And Americans for Financial Reform in a petition appealing for people to support Warren, said: "She will be just what we need to set the standard on implementation of the Wall Street Reform Act, to ensure there is real consumer financial protection."
WALL STREET'S WORST NIGHTMARE?
The banking industry, on the other hand, has reservations about being regulated by an individual who has a long track record of seeing Wall Street as the problem.
The two key gripes about Warren are her perceived predisposition in viewing banks as the guilty parties, and an academic's lack of real-world experience of how the industry functions, and hence a lack of appreciation of its views.
"She has no grounding in the practicalities of the industry that she would be regulating," said one former Federal Reserve official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
"Many people in the industry believe, in her mind and in her heart, that she has been such an advocate for this that there is a predisposition in her view-point of being highly suspicious of the industry and that it is guilty until proven innocent," he said.
That perception was cemented during hearings she conducted at the Congressional Oversight Commission, and comments on certain mortgages as too complicated, the proliferation of credit card fees, and on misleading insurance plans.
"She's very strong-minded," said Ernie Patrikis, a partner at law firm White and Case and a former senior officer at the New York Federal Reserve, citing her conduct at the hearings.
"I think people have seen that side, and have concerns that she would just not be open-minded on issues, or would have made up her mind ahead of time," he said.
IF NOMINATED, CAN SHE GET SENATE CONFIRMATION?
Maybe. On the surface it looks like Republicans would not have to think hard about opposing the nomination of a liberal consumer advocate eyed with suspicion by big banks.
And Obama, asked specifically about the confirmation battle if he tapped Warren, said all his nominations were being slowed by Republican lawmakers, implying she would fare no better.
But public anger over taxpayer bailouts of rich Wall Street bankers is still running high, which could make it politically tricky to fight her confirmation on the basis that she would run too strict on the still-unpopular industry.
"It will be very hard for Republicans to block her approval on the ground that she is too tough on wall street. That is just not a winning message," said Weissman.
Also, Republican Party insiders said fierce Senate opposition was not a forgone conclusion. They said an interim appointment, floated on Monday as an option by sources familiar with the discussions, could draw less hostile opposition than a presidential recess appointment, which by-passes Congress by making the appointment while it is on vacation.
WHAT HAS OBAMA SAID?
The president made pretty clear during a White House press conference on Friday he was leaning toward her nomination:
"The idea for this agency was Elizabeth Warren's. She's a dear friend of mine. She's somebody I've known since I was in law school. And I have been in conversations with her. She is a tremendous advocate for this idea," he said. (Editing by Leslie Adler)
