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Waters Convenes First Hearing on Recent Market Volatility
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services gave the following statement at a full Committee virtual hearing entitled, “Game Stopped? Who Wins and Loses When Short Sellers, Social Media, and Retail Investors Collide.”
Good afternoon everyone. This hearing will be the first in a series of hearings for the Committee to examine the recent market volatility involving GameStop and other stocks. I want to know how each of the witnesses here today, and the companies they represent, contributed to the historic trading events in January.
This recent market volatility has put a national spotlight on institutional practices by Wall Street firms, and prompted discussion about the evolving role of technology and social media in our markets. These events have illuminated potential conflicts of interest and the predatory ways that certain funds operate, and they have demonstrated the enormous potential power of social media in our markets. They have also raised issues involving gamification of trading, potential harm to retail investors, and the business models of apps with retail investors as their users.
All of this is why we have witnesses from many of the key players here to testify today, including witnesses representing Wall Street firms Melvin Capital and Citadel, social media company Reddit, trading app Robinhood, as well as one of the retail investors involved. In subsequent hearings we will hear from regulators and other experts regarding these events, including why Dodd-Frank rulemakings related to short-selling disclosures were never implemented.
Click here to read her full opening statement or watch it here:
Tweets of the Week
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Member Spotlight
This week, at the Committee on Financial Services hearing entitled “Game Stopped? Who Wins and Loses When Short Sellers, Social Media, and Retail Investors Collide”, Congresswoman Cindy Axne (D-IA), asked hearing witness Vlad Tenev, CEO of Robinhood about gamification.
Watch the entire virtual hearing here.
Waters Announces Updates to February Hearing Schedule
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, announced the following updates to the hearing schedule for the month of February:
- NEW DATE: February 25 at 10:00 AM ET: The Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy will convene for a virtual hearing entitled, "Dollars against Democracy: Domestic Terrorist Financing in the Aftermath of Insurrection."
- NEW DATE: February 25 at 2:00 PM ET: The Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship and Capital Markets will convene for a virtual hearing entitled, “Climate Change and Social Responsibility: Helping Corporate Boards and Investors Make Decisions for a Sustainable World.”
All hearings are livestreamed on https://democrats-financialservices.house.gov/live/.
For virtual hearings, all Members and witnesses participate remotely with no in-person participation in the hearing room.
Committee activities are finalized once an official notice is issued by the House Financial Services Committee. Visit https://democrats-financialservices.house.gov/calendar/ for the most up-to-date Committee schedule.
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