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Chairwoman Waters Presses Nation’s Regulators on FTX Collapse, Efforts to Protect Communities
This week, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, convened a full committee hearing entitled, “Oversight of Prudential Regulators: Ensuring the Safety, Soundness, Diversity, and Accountability of Depository Institutions.” As it stands, America’s workers, small businesses, and communities are feeling the impacts of persistent inflation, an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine. On top of that, our financial system is rapidly evolving with new technologies.
During this hearing, Committee Democrats, under the leadership of Chairwoman Waters, continued their oversight efforts to ensure that America’s banking system is working for all people. Committee Democrats explored a number of issues impacting communities, including the regulators’ efforts to:
- Work with Congress to ensure that crypto failures, like the most recent collapse of FTX, never happen again. *NOTE: The Committee will hold a bipartisan hearing next month to investigate the FTX collapse. *
- Promote diversity and inclusion in the banking system, both by ensuring workforce diversity within the agencies and supporting MDIs & CDFIs, which play a significant role in driving resources to Black, brown and low-income communities – who are often left behind by our nation’s major banks.
- End modern-day redlining by further strengthening and modernizing the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and strengthening fair housing and lending enforcement.
- Closely monitor the explosion of megabank mergers and acquisitions to ensure that vulnerable communities are not faced with fewer options at jacked up prices.
- Hold repeat offender banks that continue to violate the law and harm consumers accountable for their actions. No more slaps on the wrist.
- Take aggressive action against the threat of climate change by ensuring our nation's financial services institutions understand their exposure to climate-related risks and have the tools to monitor and manage them.
- Keep a close eye on the impact of emerging financial technologies and artificial intelligence, and promote responsible innovation while protecting customers and investors who are engaging with these products.
In case you missed it, read a recap of the full Committee hearing HERE.
Chairwoman Waters Congratulates Acting Chair Marty Gruenberg on Nomination as FDIC Chair
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services released this statement following the Biden administration’s nomination of Martin Gruenberg to be chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC):
“I want to congratulate Acting Chair Martin Gruenberg on his nomination by President Biden to serve as chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. With decades of public service, including providing years of invaluable oversight of our nation’s banking system, even during the most challenging times, I am confident that he is well suited to lead the FDIC as a confirmed Chair again during these volatile times. Already as Acting Chair, Mr. Gruenberg has taken important steps to strengthen the Community Reinvestment Act to combat modern-day redlining, improve the bank merger review process, and address climate-related financial risks and other threats to financial stability. He has also prioritized oversight of our nation’s biggest banks to ensure they are safe and sound and not harming consumers, and under his leadership, the FDIC has remained vigilant of newly emerging risks, like those related to digital assets. I look forward to the Senate promptly confirming him to this key post, so we can continue the work to build a strong and inclusive banking system.”
Read the press release HERE.
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Member Spotlight
| Congressman David Scott (D-GA) |
Congressman David Scott (D-GA) serves on the Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship and Capital Markets and the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions. This week, he participated in the Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship and Capital Markets hearing, “Investing in our Rivals: Examining U.S. Capital Flows to Foreign Rivals and Adversaries Around the World.”
Weekend Reads
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Committee Hearings
Oversight of Prudential Regulators: Ensuring the Safety, Soundness, Diversity, and Accountability of Depository Institutions
The full Committee convened for a hearing entitled, “Oversight of Prudential Regulators: Ensuring the Safety, Soundness, Diversity, and Accountability of Depository Institutions.” Dodd-Frank requires the Vice Chairman for Supervision of the Fed to testify before the Committee regarding the Fed’s supervision and regulation of depository institutions and other financial firms. During this hearing, Committee Democrats pressed regulators on the work they’re doing to promote diversity and inclusion within the banking system, including efforts to support MDIs and CDFIs, end modern-day redlining, monitor the explosion of bank mergers and acquisitions, and so much more.
- Read Chairwoman Waters’ opening statement HERE.
- Watch the full Committee hearing HERE.
Persistent Poverty in America: Addressing Chronic Disinvestment in Colonias, the Southern Black Belt, and the U.S. Territories
The Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development and Insurance held a hearing entitled, “Persistent Poverty in America: Addressing Chronic Disinvestment in Colonias, the Southern Black Belt, and the U.S. Territories.” During this hearing, Committee Democrats focused on persistent poverty in the colonias, the Southern Black Belt region (Black Belt), and the U.S. territories, and the housing and community development needs and challenges in these communities, which are predominantly rural.
- Read Chairwoman Waters’ opening statement HERE.
- Watch the subcommittee hearing HERE.
Investing in our Rivals: Examining U.S. Capital Flows to Foreign Rivals and Adversaries Around the World
The Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship and Capital Markets held a hearing entitled, “Investing in our Rivals: Examining U.S. Capital Flows to Foreign Rivals and Adversaries Around the World.” During this hearing, Committee Democrats reviewed international tensions between the U.S. and China, as well as the U.S. and Russia. Increasingly autocratic tendencies of the national governments of both China and Russia have produced considerable uncertainty within the business environments of both jurisdictions. Together, these dynamics have produced a number of risks to investor protection, the American economy, and its national security or other interests.
- Read Chairwoman Waters’ opening statement HERE.
- Watch the subcommittee hearing HERE.
Chairwoman’s Corner
Chairwoman Waters, Ranking Member McHenry Announce December Hearing to Investigate FTX Collapse
On Wednesday, the Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), and the Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC), announced a bipartisan hearing into the collapse of FTX and the broader consequences for the digital asset ecosystem. In December, the Committee expects to hear from the companies and individuals involved, including Sam Bankman-Fried, Alameda Research, Binance, FTX, and related entities, among others.
“The fall of FTX has posed tremendous harm to over one million users, many of whom were everyday people who invested their hard-earned savings into the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, only to watch it all disappear within a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, this event is just one out of many examples of cryptocurrency platforms that have collapsed just this past year. That’s why it is with great urgency that I, along with my colleague Ranking Member McHenry, announce the Committee’s intention to hold a hearing to investigate the collapse of FTX,” said Chairwoman Waters. “As Chairwoman of the Financial Services Committee, I have led the effort in examining and investigating the digital assets marketplace, and know that we need legislative action to ensure that digital assets entities cannot operate in the shadows outside of robust federal oversight and clear rules of the road. I look forward to holding this important hearing, and uncovering all that Congress must do to ensure this never happens again.
“Chairwoman Waters and I are announcing a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the FTX debacle,” said Ranking Member McHenry. “Oversight is one of Congress’ most critical functions and we must get to the bottom of this for FTX’s customers and the American people. It’s essential that we hold bad actors accountable so responsible players can harness technology to build a more inclusive financial system. I appreciate Chairwoman Waters’ working with Republicans to deliver accountability through a bipartisan process.”
Read the full press release HERE.
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