Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, led six letters to Administration officials, prudential regulators, financial services organizations and credit reporting agencies expressing concerns about risks related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the steps they are taking to prevent Americans and the financial system from being harmed.

Subcommittee and Task Force Chairs joined Chairwoman Waters in leading this effort.

Chairwoman Waters made the following statement:

“The Financial Services Committee is taking action to respond to the serious threat that the novel coronavirus is posing to our nation. Today, I and Members of the Committee have sent letters to the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a number of financial industry trade associations, and the major consumer credit reporting bureaus, all to ensure that Americans are protected from the potential negative financial impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. The Committee will be holding bipartisan staff briefings from the Administration, regulators, market participants, economists, and stakeholders, and we will convene a full Committee hearing this month on the readiness of our financial system to weather a pandemic.

“While our federal regulators, agencies and financial institutions must take action to protect consumers and our economy, I must emphasize that it is unacceptable to use this crisis as an excuse to justify rollbacks of important financial regulations that are in place to protect our financial system and economy.

“Unfortunately, the Trump Administration’s response to this crisis has been entirely deficient. This President is wholly unprepared to address the crisis, and his poor decisions have left the government with less capacity to respond to it. Even now, the Trump Administration is proposing to slash the CDC’s budget. This President has even called the coronavirus a 'new hoax.' Let me be very clear that this is not a hoax, this is an emergency. I and the Financial Services Committee will be responding with all due urgency.”

The full text of the letter to the Department of the Treasury is available here.

The full text of the letter to the American Bankers Association, Bank Policy Institute, Consumer Data Industry Association, Credit Union National Association, Electronic Transactions Association, Equifax, Experian North America, Financial Innovation Now, Independent Community Bankers of America, Marketplace Lending Association, Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions, National Bankers Association and TransUnion is available here.

The full text of the letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is available here.

The full text of the letter to the Department of Housing and Urban Development is available here.

The full text of the letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission is available here.

The full text of the letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigations is available here.

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