Regulation Innovation: Protecting Consumers Through Technology & Trust (spring 2016)
SESSION #1
Guest speaker: Dan Quan, Senior Advisor to the Director, U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
FEBRUARY 10, 4:00-5:30 pm
This study group session will focus on the insights of Dan Quan, who heads the Project Catalyst initiative at the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in Washington. Project Catalyst seeks to identify promising innovations in consumer financial technology, or “fintech,” and enables innovators to experiment and test results within a flexible regulatory framework. Mr. Quan, whose background includes research at Harvard Business School, is uniquely positioned to understand emerging technologies and business models in consumer finance. His work intersects with our study group’s exploration of how best to regulate financial innovation.
Location: Carr Conference Room (Rubenstein 219)
SESSION #2
Guest speaker: Steve Antonakes, Senior Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer at Eastern Bank; former Deputy Director of the CFPB
MARCH 21, 4:00-5:30 pm
Location: Fainsod (Littauer 324)
SESSION #3
Guest speaker: Thomas Curry, Comptroller of the Currency, U.S. Department of the Treasury
MARCH 31, 4:00-5:30 pm
Location: CBG Conference Room (Belfer 503)
Jo Ann Barefoot
Jo Ann Barefoot is CEO of Jo Ann Barefoot Group, LLC. She has worked for over thirty-five years in private and public sector roles focused on consumer financial protection, inclusion, and technology. As Deputy Comptroller of the Currency she established the first federal consumer protection oversight function for national banks. She has served on the staff of the U. S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; was Co-chair of Treliant Risk Advisors; and was Partner and Managing Director at KPMG, leading the firm’s privacy practice and a nationwide consumer finance consulting group. Barefoot has advised all of America’s largest financial institutions, many other financial companies, various federal agencies, and numerous community banks and non-profits. She serves on the Consumer Advisory Board to the new federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; is a member of the board of the Center for Financial Services Innovation; and serves on advisory boards to several fintech startups. She produces the podcast interview series Barefoot Innovation, speaks annually to thousands of people, has authored four books on bank regulatory matters and has published nearly 200 articles. She was the primary author of Common Ground -- Increasing Consumer Benefits and Reducing Costs in Bank Regulation, published by the University of Wisconsin. She was an International Visitor to the European Community and has worked in rural India with micro-finance and education in leprosy communities. Barefoot’s research project is entitled, “Regulation Innovation – Protecting Consumers through Technology and Trust,” and her faculty sponsor is Brigitte Madrian, Aetna Professor of Public Policy and Corporate Management. Email:joann_barefoot@hks.harvard.edu
M-RCBG senior fellow Jo Ann Barefoot.