Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, delivered the following statement at a Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations hybrid hearing entitled, “An Enduring Legacy: The Role of Financial Institutions in the Horrors of Slavery and the Need for Atonement, Part Two.”

Thank you, Chairman Green. At your previous hearing on this topic, we discussed the significant role slavery played in building up the U.S. economy and financial services industry, and fueling our nation’s wealth. Large banks and insurance companies have profited from this unjust economic legacy, yet the debt to the descendants of enslaved people remains unsettled.

The results from the Committee’s inquiry into some of the biggest, largest banks and insurance companies demonstrate that more work needs to be done to ensure that the damages resulting from slavery have been remediated and the racial wealth divide addressed. Quite simply, public apologies and acknowledgments are not enough. I look forward to exploring solutions that address this history of exploitation and now, I yield back.

###