Employees Flee Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

They'd rather work in the private sector

Nearly two years after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau opened its doors, the agency is grappling with an exodus of key staffers who helped the agency get off the ground.

Dozens of CFPB policymakers, rule writers and attorneys have left in recent months, lured by opportunities in the private sector, burnt out by the bureau's breakneck pace or disgruntled with what they say is a lack of clear leadership.

Many have landed at law firms, compliance shops and banks, where their insider knowledge of how the agency works is coveted.

In its early days, CFPB sought experts with deep markets and banking industry experience, but it is facing the reality — like other agencies before it — that many of those people will go back to the private sector.