The U.S. Senate Banking Committee held a virtual hearing yesterday that was benignly titled “Oversight of Financial Regulators.” It would be an understatement to say that there was nothing benign about the hearing. Fireworks went off throughout the hearing as Democratic Senators let it be known that they expected the crony relationship between the Fed and the Wall Street banks to be challenged by the incoming Biden administration.
Senator Sherrod Brown set the tone for the hearing with his opening remarks, telling the panel of Trump era federal banking regulators the following:
Senator Sherrod Brown
“We can get small businesses back on their feet. We can lift up the Black and brown communities that have been hit the hardest by this pandemic. We can keep people in their homes, make those homes more affordable, and bring down people’s energy bills. We can lead the world in the fight against climate change and seize every opportunity to create good-paying jobs. We can free people from the stress of debt collectors and the downward spiral of payday lenders.
“And we can reorient our economy from wealth to work. To do all of that, we have to take on Wall Street power.
Later in his remarks, Brown said this:
“We have to break up the biggest banks, and give that power to everyone else who has been denied a voice in our economy…
“When work has dignity, we have a strong, growing middle class, and everyone – everyone – can reach it. Making that vision possible is the job of the Banking and Housing Committee. We know we have great challenges – we’re in a public health crisis, an economic crisis, and a climate crisis. And extraordinary times call for us to aim higher and think bigger – to rise to meet this moment, and restore people’s faith in their government. I look forward to coming together with Senators on both sides of the aisle, and with the new administration, to get to work.”
When it came time to question the various federal regulators, Brown told the group that they could have done so much to improve the lives of average Americans but had, instead, “finalized the Wall Street wish list.” Brown then critiqued the failings of each of the regulators, giving the harshest tongue-lashing to Brian Brooks, the Acting Comptroller of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Brown told Brooks the following:…
Continue Reading