‘Who’s In Your Wallet?’ Lawmakers Ask. Answer: Big Banks
April 8, 2014
‘Who’s In Your Wallet?’ Lawmakers Ask. Answer: Big Banks
In Wake of Banking Crisis that Brought Economic Calamity, House Committee to Press Regulators to Let Up
The House Committee on Financial Services will question the leading legal officers of the nation’s bank regulators in a hearing today titled “Who’s in Your Wallet: Examining How Washington Red Tape Impairs Economic Freedom.”
Public Citizen experts issued the following remarks:
“Five years after risky and even fraudulent banking brought about economic calamity, regulators have failed to finalize key reforms to prevent the next meltdown, in part due to industry pressure,” said Lisa Gilbert, director of Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division. “Many members of the committee have large campaign ‘wallets’ thanks in part to contributions from the financial services industry, which is pressuring regulators not to issue safeguards required by the Dodd-Frank law passed in the wake of the financial crisis.”
“Even existing law goes unenforced, especially at the largest banks. No Wall Street executives have been held accountable for the most massive fraud in history,” said Amit Narang, regulatory policy advocate in Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division.
“Leaders of the committee ask ‘who’s in your wallet?’ The critical wallet in this misguided hearing is that of the Wall Street lobby, which continues to fund the effort to prevent reforms protecting Main Street from financial predators,” said Bartlett Naylor, financial policy advocate in Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division.
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