Congressman Barney Frank, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today released the following statement regarding the announcement yesterday by JPMorgan Chase that it will lose $2 billion due to trading on credit derivatives. This regrettable news from JPMorgan Chase obviously goes counter to the bank’s narrative blaming excessive regulation for the woes of financial institutions. Interestingly, in the Economist’s long attack on the financial reform bill, one of their leading ... Read more

Congressman Barney Frank, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today released the following statement about the recent agreement to reauthorize funding of the Export-Import Bank. I appreciate the work of Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer and others in forging an agreement on this strong authorization of the Export-Import Bank through 2014. I only regret that the right-wing ideologues in the Republican caucus made it take so long to accomplish, and I find it ironic that the uncerta... Read more

Congressman Barney Frank today announced that the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has agreed to permit filing of an amicus brief submitted by House Democrats concerning the ability of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission to issue rules which would limit speculation in commodities markets. In their formal submission to the Court, Democrats state that the clear intent of Congress in enacting the 2010 Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of was to require the Commod... Read more

Democratic Members of the House Financial Services Committee today issued dissenting views to the budget reconciliation legislative recommendations which passed the committee last week on a straight party line vote. Republican Members of the committee claim that the legislation will cut the deficit by approximately $35 billion over a 10-year period. However, independent observers have called the savings a “wild assumption” and “bogus.” One section of the budget reconciliation language would repe... Read more

Congressman Barney Frank, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today released the following statement about the announcement by the Federal Reserve Board concerning implementation of the Volcker Rule. The guidance issued today by the Federal Reserve regarding the Volker Rule is an appropriate and reasoned approach to the implementation of this important provision. As the statute requires, the Board’s position gives the affected institutions time to come into compliance, with... Read more

Congressman Barney Frank, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today released the following statement in response to reports that the shareholders of Citigroup have rejected the executive pay packages put forth by its board. The vote by the shareholders of Citigroup to disapprove the pay package for its top executive is one more piece of evidence of the beneficial effect of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act which Congress passed in 2010. The say-on-pay provi... Read more

The House Financial Services Committee will today consider legislation which would eliminate an entire title of the 2010 Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and also hobble the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The legislative language crafted by Committee Republicans lays out recommendations for deep budget cuts in areas under the Committee’s jurisdiction. The House Republican leadership had requested that the Financial Services Committee find $29.8 billion in savings over a 10-y... Read more

Click below for text of amendments offered (and vote tallies recorded) at the April 18th mark -up of the House Financial Services Committee to consider budget reconciliation legislative recommendations. Final House Financial Services Committee budget reconciliation legislative recommendations AGREED TO, as amended, by a recorded vote of 31 ayes and 26 nays, FC-76. An amendment offered by Ms. Moore, (Striking the language which repeals Order Liquidation Authority) no. 1, was NOT AGREED TO by a re... Read more

Congressman Barney Frank, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today released the following statement in response to the announcement by the Obama administration that it would take further steps to restrict speculation in oil markets. Click here to view the White House fact sheet on this issue. Congressman Frank’s statement appears below: The package of measures the President has proposed to deal with the oil speculation that has been a significant contributor to higher oil ... Read more

Congressman Barney Frank, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today released the following statement vowing to fight Republican efforts to substantially weaken provisions of the 2010 Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. In his statement, Frank strongly criticizes two bills which would create substantial loopholes in parts of the law dealing with the regulation of derivatives. Republicans who defeated in the Financial Services Committee Democratic-sponsored amendm... Read more

Congressman Barney Frank, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today released a statement regarding the implementation of the Volcker Rule. The Volcker Rule is a provision of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act which would prohibit banks and their affiliates from conducting proprietary trading – speculative investments for their own profit in hedge funds, private equity funds, and other investment vehicles. According to the financial reform law, the specific l... Read more

WASHINGTON – Democratic Members of the House Financial Services Committee sent a letter to Chairman Spencer Bachus, requesting that he call a legislative hearing on a bill introduced by Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) which would strip the legal mandate that the Federal Reserve pursue policies that seek to sustain maximum employment.

Republican Members of the House Financial Services Committee today voted to reject an amendment which calls for fully meeting the President’s funding request for the Securities and Exchange Commission. Twenty-five Republicans voted against the amendment and seventeen Democrats voted in favor of it. The amendment was introduced by Congressman Barney Frank, Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee. In his remarks, Frank pointed out that the amendment would be budget neutral because the S... Read more

(February 29, 2012) – Reps. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) today assailed efforts by financial trade organizations to undermine current law which, if fully implemented, would help to restrict speculation in oil prices. Most economists agree that speculation in oil markets is part of the reason for spikes in the price of oil. Meanwhile, American families and businesses are paying record prices for gas for this time of year, in part... Read more

The House Financial Services Committee today passed four bills, including controversial legislation (H.R. 2308) which would require the Securities and Exchange Commission to conduct cost-benefit analyses and periodic reviews on all rulemakings and most orders that it issues. The effect of the legislation would be to cripple the ability of the SEC to carry out its regulatory functions, and make it difficult to protect investors even when the SEC has evidence of wrong-doing. The bill would also in... Read more

The House Financial Services Committee will mark up four bills this morning beginning at 10 a.m. At least one of these bills will draw significant controversy, the “SEC Regulatory Accountability Act” (H.R. 2308) introduced by Congressman Scott Garrett. The bill would greatly increase requirements on the Security and Exchange Commission to conduct cost-benefit analyses and periodic reviews on all rulemakings and most orders it issues. The effect of the bill would be to cripple the ability of the ... Read more

Congressman Barney Frank, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today released the following statement regarding news reports that Chairman Spencer Bachus will be investigated by the Office of Congressional Ethics. I do not believe that Members of Congress should comment on specific ongoing ethics investigations. In my dealings over the years with Spencer Bachus, with whom I disagree on a number of policy issues, I have found him to be honorable and straightforward. Read more

Congressmen Barney Frank, Michael Capuano and Stephen Lynch – all three Members of the House Financial Services Committee representing Congressional districts in the state of Massachusetts – today released the attached letter to Ed DeMarco, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The FHFA is the federal agency which is the regulator and conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Congressmen Barney Frank, Michael Capuano and Stephen Lynch – all three Members of the House Financial Servic... Read more

WASHINGTON – Congressman Barney Frank today released the following statement about President Obama’s plan to help homeowners and to hasten recovery in the housing market.

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, today released a letter to Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, and Thomas Curry, comptroller of the currency, asking for detailed information about the abrupt termination of the Independent Foreclosure Review (IFR) process. Ranking Member Waters, a leading advocate for foreclosure prevention, has closely monitored the IFR process since its inception in early 2011. Designed to investigate abuses by m... Read more

Congressman Barney Frank, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, released the following statement about the announcement made yesterday by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on behalf of the Federal Open Market Committee. Yesterday’s decision by the Federal Open Market Committee to “maintain a highly accommodative stance for monetary policy” and to extend the period for that policy is welcome and appropriate. In the Federal Open Market Committee’s statement the importance o... Read more

WASHINGTON – Congressman Barney Frank today released the following statement in the wake of the passage on Wednesday evening of two bills in the Capital Markets Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee which would eviscerate two important provisions of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Barney Frank today released the following statement about the successful Republican efforts in the Senate to block the nomination of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: