Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, Chairman of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), seeking to elicit his views on the progress of the “living wills” provision of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.  The provision requires the nation’s largest bank holding companies and other systemically important financial firms as designated by the FSOC to file Orderly Resolution Plans (or “living wills”) for how the companies, if faced with imminent failure, could be liquidated without harming the broader economy. 

In her letter to Secretary Lew, Waters also expresses concern over the pace of the “living wills” submission process, and asks him to ensure that the October deadline set by the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for submitting revised plans will be met.

The provisions establishing “living wills” are intended to provide regulators with the necessary information to protect the broader economy from the failure of a large and complex financial firm.  They are designed to help the FSOC manage systemic risk and preserve financial stability. Ranking Member Waters has repeatedly called for the full implementation of these critical reforms.

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