In response to a Democratic staff report highlighting shortcomings in personnel diversity policies and practices at seven major financial regulators, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, along with senior members of the panel and members of the Tri-Caucus, released the agencies’ responses to the report’s recommendations for enhancing… Read more »

During a hearing where members of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, or FSOC, appeared before the full Committee, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, underscored the need for a coordinating regulatory body in the wake of the financial crisis and highlighted its work to provide stability to investors, consumers and our national… Read more »

Federal financial services agencies have yet to reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the American population in their workforces – this according to a Democratic Financial Services Committee staff report released during a press conference today led by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee. Senior Democratic Members in attendance included the… Read more »

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is not alone in having racial disparities in its performance reviews, according to a report issued Thursday by the Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee. The report found that all seven bank, credit union and market regulators displayed significant disparities in employee evaluations, particularly among African-Americans who… Read more »

On Thursday, November 5, 2015 at 10:00 a.m., Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, will join representatives and chairs of the tri-caucus to unveil a report, highlighting federal financial services agencies’ current compliance with federal diversity provisions, trends in performance review evaluations and workforce diversity throughout… Read more »

Citigroup Inc.’s failure to pay 24,000 people owed money as part of a settlement with the government over foreclosure abuses has prompted a U.S. lawmaker to call for an investigation into whether banks missed other borrowers. Maxine Waters, the senior Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, sent a letter Friday to the inspectors general of the Federal Reserve and the… Read more »

In the wake of recent reports that U.S. banks are restructuring overseas derivatives transactions to sidestep critical protections enacted under the Wall Street Reform Act, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee, has called on the top U.S. derivatives regulator to “thoroughly investigate” the removal of U.S. guarantees from arrangements… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, released the following statement in response to today’s GAO report on the Independent Foreclosure Review (IFR).  The study was conducted as the result of a 2012 request by Congresswoman Waters, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Reps. Brad Miller (D-NC) and Luis Gutierrez (D-IL). Waters released… Read more »

A new government report suggests that errors made by banks and their agents during foreclosures might have been significantly higher than was previously believed when regulators halted a national review of the banks’ mortgage servicing operations. When banking regulators decided to end the independent foreclosure review last year, most banks had not completed the examinations of their… Read more »

Following widespread concern over the actions of a number of independent mortgage servicers, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), top Democrat on the Financial Services Committee, has called on government regulators to take action that will protect homeowners from abuses that have led to stalled modifications, excess fees and even foreclosure. In a letter to Comptroller of the Currency… Read more »

Representative Maxine Waters of California is urging federal banking regulators to scrutinize the sale of billions of dollars of mortgage-servicing rights to a fleet of specialty firms, a move that comes amid mounting concerns that some of the most vulnerable homeowners are facing fresh abuses in battles to save their homes. For some Americans whose home values plummeted in the depths… Read more »

  At today’s Financial Services Committee hearing featuring the five agencies charged with promulgating the Volcker Rule, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), top Democrat on the Committee, commended regulators for working to put forth a strong rule that will ensure a more stable financial system. Passed as part of the Wall Street Reform Act, the Volcker Rule ensures taxpayer dollars… Read more »

As regulators contemplate changes to a provision of the “Volcker Rule” related to the treatment of investments in Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs) backed by Trust Preferred Securities (TruPS), 22 Democratic members of the Financial Services Committee have expressed their support for providing important regulatory relief to the community banking sector while preserving strong… Read more »

WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers on Monday urged regulators to keep their promise to release a report by the end of the year that details an independent review of millions of borrowers who faced foreclosure. In a letter to Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke and Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Maxine Waters and Rep. Elijah Cummings said a… Read more »

A trio of top Democrats are urging federal regulators to release details about their decision to end a foreclosure review process in favor of a nearly $10 billion settlement. Reps. Maxine Waters(Calif.) and Elijah Cummings (Md.) along with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) sent a letter on Monday that "in the absence of a long-promised public report" about the Independent Foreclosure… Read more »

As many employees prepare to miss their first paycheck as a result of the Federal Government shutdown, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, lauded the action of five federal financial services agencies that today called on financial institutions to work with customers that have been affected.  In a letter to the heads of the… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, sent a letter today to Christy L. Romero, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), calling for an investigation of Bank of America or any other mortgage servicer, who allegedly benefited by misleading borrowers eligible for the Home Affordable Modification Program… Read more »

Today, Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), joined U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Lois Capps (D-Calif.), in sending a letter to eight executive agencies urging them to protect surviving spouses from foreclosure. This segment of the homeowner population – often women in their later years – faces unique circumstances that unfairly deprive them of opportunities to avoid… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today released the following statement in response to testimony by Daniel Stipano, deputy chief counsel of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), in his appearance before the Senate Banking Committee.  In his testimony, Stipano stated that the OCC “would welcome a legislative change”… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, announced today that she has introduced legislation to reform the use of independent consultants in banking regulation and enforcement processes.   She is joined by Representatives Elijah E. Cummings, Al Green and John Conyers, Jr. as original cosponsors. The Stop Outsourcing Banking… Read more »

Plans to Introduce Legislation to Address the Use of Consultants Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, released the following statement today in response to a GAO report on the Independent Foreclosure Review.  The study was conducted as the result of a request by Congresswoman Waters, Senator Robert Menendez, Congressman Brad Miller,… Read more »

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, seeking additional, detailed information from the regulators about the termination of the Independent Foreclosure Review (IFR). Ranking Member Waters has been a leading advocate for… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, today sent the attached letter to Jeb Hensarling, chairman of the committee, requesting that he hold a hearing about the abrupt end of the Independent Foreclosure Review (IFR) process. On Jan. 7, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve Board announced a settlement in which… Read more »

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… Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43), Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement today regarding the $8.5 billion foreclosure review settlement between the OCC, the Federal Reserve Board and ten mortgage servicers: "The settlement announced today between the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve Board and ten major… Read more »