Public Citizen Derides House Committee Vote on Wall Street Deregulation Measures
Oct. 11, 2017
Public Citizen Derides House Committee Vote on Wall Street Deregulation Measures
Statement of Bartlett Naylor, Financial Policy Advocate, Public Citizen’s Congress Watch Division
Note: Today, the U.S. House Financial Services Committee will begin voting on more than 20 Wall Street deregulation bills.
These measures put Americans at the mercy of a greedy financial sector. They are darts ripping holes in important consumer protections.
One piece of legislation reduces interest rate protections for purchasers of mobile homes. Another eliminates the recent U.S. Department of Labor rule that requires Wall Street advisers to put their customers’ interests first, instead of steering the investor to products that pay higher fees. Others reduce the capital safety cushion for megabanks, making them more likely to fail in a downturn.
Banks already are making near record profits, and loan-making is robust. These bills baldly reflect the political contributions from the financial sector, which is reinvesting some of its profits in the U.S. Congress.
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