Yes, if you were watching Jon Stewart’s Daily Show last night on Comedy Central, you would have seen that one of his guests was CFPB Director Richard Cordray.  (A video of Director Cordray’s appearance can be viewed here.)  Director Cordray’s Daily Show appearance last night followed his appearance yesterday morning on Morning Joe, an MSNBC program.  In addition, an editorial by Director Cordray entitled “New mortgage rules protect American dream” appeared in yesterday’s USA Today. 

Director Cordray’s media blitz is obviously timed to coincide with tomorrow’s effective date of the CFPB’s new mortgage rules.  In these media forums (as well as in his prepared remarks to the National Association of Realtors earlier this week), Director Cordray discussed how the CFPB’s “back-to-basics approach,” which seems to be the CFPB’s mantra for its ability-to-repay/qualified mortgage rule, will eliminate “debt traps” for consumers, which seems to be the CFPB’s favorite catchphrase for an array of consumer financial products. 

The CFPB seems to have determined that, in addition to the consumer information it has released on the new rules, a media campaign is needed.  Like the CFPB’s “fact vs. fiction guide,” we wonder if the CFPB’s media campaign is providing useful information to consumers about the new rules or portending the defense the CFPB plans to use should the rules prove to have a materially adverse effect on credit availability—that the effect on credit was caused by lender overreaction and not the rules’ requirements.