Boehner Urges Banks To Fight Regulatory Reform: ‘Don’t Let Those Little Punk Staffers Take Advantage Of You’
Boehner Urges Banks To Fight Regulatory Reform: ‘Don’t Let Those Little Punk Staffers Take Advantage Of You’
This week, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) released the latest version of his financial regulatory reform bill, which aims to correct the deficiencies in the financial system that led to 2008’s economic crisis. The House of Representatives has already passed a comprehensive regulatory reform bill, and now that Dodd has given up on negotiating with recalcitrant Republicans, he is moving on an expedited timeline, with a markup scheduled for Monday.
It’s taken the Senate a year and a half after the financial crisis to even get to this point, but House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) told “an enthusiastic crowd of bankers” today that, even if the Senate passes a bill, reconciling it with the House version will take another year. “If the Senate is able to produce a bill, I think it’s just as likely that we’ll be talking about the same issue a year from now as we are right now,” Boehner said at the American Bankers Association government relations summit.
Boehner then added that the bankers should be standing up for themselves against “those little punk staffers” trying to write new regulations:
“Don’t let those little punk staffers take advantage of you and stand up for yourselves,” Boehner said. “All of us are hearing from our friends and constituents on lack of credit, you can’t get a loan, the more your government takes and taxes, the more regulations you have to comply with the more cost you have there and less amount you are going to have available to loan to customers.”
The fact that he’s willing to let another year lapse without putting in place new rules for Wall Street shows exactly where Boehner’s priorities lie. But it should come as no surprise, considering what Republicans have been up to this year.
In February, Boehner met “over drinks” with JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, where he “made a pitch” for Wall Street support by explaining that “Republicans had stood up to Mr. Obama’s efforts to curb pay and impose new regulations.” Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, “said he visited New York about twice a month to try to tap into Wall Street’s ‘buyers remorse’” with Democrats. These pitches had some effect too, as in 2009, “major Wall Street players began sending an increasing share of their donations to Republicans.”
Prior to Boehner’s speech, American Bankers Association President Edward Yingling urged delay in the financial reform effort, because “every day that passes gives more leverage to [Banking Committee Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-AL)].” In his career, Boehner has received $3.4 million from the financial services industry, which is $1.2 million more than he’s received from any other industry.
5 Responses to “Boehner Urges Banks To Fight Regulatory Reform: ‘Don’t Let Those Little Punk Staffers Take Advantage Of You’”
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Did Boehner ask the shadow banking boys to raise their fists and take on those punk staffers? There’s no need to as Chris Dodd gave a free pass to many banking in the shadows.
http://peureport.blogspot.com/2010/03/senator-chris-dodds-peu-joke.html
Not addressed in the bill, private equity underwriters owning deposit insured institutions. The Carlyle Group’s Boston Private Financial Holdings got $153 million in TARP funds and is yet to pay it back. Affiliate BankUnited received $4.9 billion in FDIC subsidies.
March 17th, 2010 at 7:41 pmDonations from Securities and Investment Industry:
President Obama- $14,891,735
Senator Chris Dodd- $6,208,907
Donations from Misc. Finance:
President Obama- $6,398,267
Donations from Commercial Banks:
President Obama- $3,316,351
March 17th, 2010 at 7:49 pmSen. Chris Dodd- $1,329,162
The Red and Blue fight for Wall Street money is backstage. This public stuff is pure show.
Action! Cue John Boehner. Next up, Chris Dodd…
March 17th, 2010 at 7:50 pmWhy is he so orange?
March 17th, 2010 at 9:07 pmMarch 17, 2010
To: MEMBERS OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE BANKING COMMITTEES AND TO ALL SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES.
URGENT: TAKE THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM OUT OF FEDERAL BANK SUPERVISION AND DO NOT MERGE THE OTS INTO THE OCC OR CEASE EXISTENCE OF THE THRIFT CHARTER OR THE TRIFT BANK HOLDING COMPANY FORM OF OWNERSHIP
I first emailed this plea to various members of the House and Senate Banking Committees in April 2008. I emailed the same plea on or about March 14, 2010, and followed up with a phone call to each committee member’s office expressing the same plea on March 15, 2010. AND WHAT DID I SEE RELEASED BY SENATOR DODD? A BILL THAT GIVES THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM MORE POWER. ARE YOU SENATORS NUTS OR DO YOU JUST NOT GET IT?
I worked as a bank examiner. After serving in numerous capacities, I can credibly tell you that the Federal Reserve System (Fed), its 12 Reserve Banks and the Board of Governors, should NOT be involved in bank regulation and, at the same time, engaged in setting monetary policy. This inherent conflict of interest is the reason we are in the banking crises that we are in today. MONETARY POLICY AND BANK SUPERVISION CANNOT BE DONE TOGETHER BY THE SAME AGENCY. LET ME REPEAT. IT’S A BLATANT CONFLICT OF INTEREST!
The previous Fed chairman continually lowered interest rates, promoted the housing boom by encouraging the use of exotic mortgage products, and refused to write regulations to address issues related to the inherent risks associated with exotic mortgage products. As a result, no bank examiner, Federal or State, in his or her right mind could or would dare do anything substantive to hinder the subprime mortgage explosion that ensued. THIS IS THE WAY IT REALLY WORKS IN REAL LIFE, REALLY! YOU GUYS DON’T GET IT. YOU SET UP THERE AND LISTEN TO THE FED CHAIRMAN AND FED GOVERNORS BLOW SMOKE UP YOUR COLLECTIVE DRESSES AND BUY IT. EITHER YOU DON’T GET IT, YOU DON’T WANT TO GET IT, OR YOU’RE TOO LAZY TO TRY TO GET IT.
NOW DODD AND THE REST OF YOU LAZY WASHINGTON INSIDERS WANT TO GIVE THE FED SUPERVISION OVER BANKS WITH $100 BILLION AND MORE IN ASSETS AND ALL BANK HOLDING COMPANIES WITH CONSOLIDTATED ASSETS OF $50 BILLION AND OVER? I worked as an examiner and I can tell you for a fact that the Fed has had supervision responsibility over bank holding companies of every size as a result of legislation passed by both the house and senate. They’ve had examination staff in bank holding companies with consolidated assets of $50 billion and over for years. THEY WERE ASLEEP AT THE SWITCH! Now you want to give them supervision over something they’ve always had supervision over? Are you nuts? You just don’t care about the facts? Don’t care about how things really are? Or are you Washington insiders who want to keep the good ole boys at the Fed in power because you’re too scared or lazy to do other wise?
And you and Dodd want to reward the Fed by giving them supervision of banks with assets of $100 billion and over? They have never examined that size institution in their history. The OCC examiners our nation’s largest banks and has since the beginning of time. DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT? OR DO YOU SIMPLY NOT CARE? The Fed does not have enough examiners with the necessary skill sets to examine banks that large. The Fed examines small community state banks. DO YOU NOT REALIZE THAT? WHY WOULD GIVE THE FED THE BIGGEST BANKS TO SUPERVISE WHEN THEY HAVEN’T THE RESOURCES TO DO SO EFFECTIVELY? THAT’S THE OCC’S SPECIALTY. DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT?
The Fed chairman stated, as every past chairman has, in testimony before a house subcommittee on March 17 that the Fed needs supervisory oversight over small state member banks too in order to establish smart monetary policy. BULL CRAP! The Fed chairman, the governors or their staff do not use data from bank exams or examiners for anything. They use date provided by economists on a macro level. Economists think bank examiners are below their level of esteem and would never as examiners for data in order to establish economic policy. IT DOESN’T HAPPEN IN REAL LIFE? BUT YOU GUYS KEEP BUYING THAT TIRED LIE YEAR AFTER YEAR. If that were true, the Fed Chairman and Paulson wouldn’t have run over to a closed session of congress in the middle of the night in early 2008 with the sudden realization that the our country and the rest of the industrialized countries were on the brink of a great depression. In fact, both of those clowns kept telling the public that everything was fine, the fundamentals of the economy were strong and that we had reached a bottom.
AS A BANK EXAMINER, I AND MY COLLEAGUES KNEW FOR OVER A YEASR PRIOR TO THAT EMBARRASSING MEETING WITH YOU THAT THE ECONOMY WAS NOT FINE. NO ONE AT THE FED KNEW BECAUSE THEY DO NOT USE BANK EXAMINATION OR BANK EXAMINER DATA OR IMPUT! THAT’S HOW IT REALLY IS. THAT’S REALITY. DO YOU NOT GET IT?
DO YOU NOT ALSO SEE THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST THAT THE FED FACES DUE TO TRYING TO SUPERVISE BANKS AND SET MONETARY POLICY? I DON’T CARE WHAT OTHER COUNTRY OR COUNTRIES ALLOW THEIR CENTRAL BANK TO DO BOTH, IT’S A CONFLICE TO INTEREST! DO YOU NOT GET IT?
CORRECT THIS CONFLIT NOW. DON’T GIVE THE FED POWER OVER BANKS THEY HAVE NO EXPERIENCE WITH. TAKE THEM OUT OF SUPERVISION. THEY COULDN ‘T EFFECTIVELY SUPERVISE BANK HOLDING COMPANIES. THEY HAD EXAMINERS IN LEHMAN BROTHERS AND EITHER COULDN’T UNDERSTAND THE ACCOUNTING FRAUD LEHMAN HAD GOING ON OR THEY CHOSE TO TRY TO SWEEP IT UNDER THE CARPET. THE LATTER IS MORE LIKELY BECAUSE THAT’S HOW FED EXAMINERS OPERATE IN MANY CASES INVOLVING HIGH PROFILE, OR LARGE COMPLEX FINANICAL ISNTITUTIONS WITH “POLICAL” CLOUT. THAT’S HOW THE FED WORKS IN REAL LIFE.
There needs to be one single Federal Bank Regulator. However, if this cannot be agreed upon due to gridlock in both chambers then at least remove the Fed from all supervisory responsibilities and leave everything else as is. Leave the OTS, the OCC, the FDIC, and the States in their current supervisory roles. The consumer protection idea is sound, but any agency would be better at overseeing this vitally important responsibility than the Fed.
DO NOT DO AWAY WITH THE THRIFT CHARTER, THRIFT HOLDING COMPANIES OR THE OTS. Because if you do, it will leave no option for large organizations to convert to a form of ownership that will allow for both regulatory oversight and for the organization to continue to operate in its present form and structure. And the OCC does not have the manpower or experience to supervise thrifts. You will disrupt the OCC, thrift operations, and stymie the mortgage industry, bringing it to a complete halt.
Also, if the thrift charter and the thrift holding company were no longer available as options, what would or could have been down with Wall Street firms to bring them under the Federal Supervision umbrella? Nothing unless such organizations were forced to divest or breakup operating units simply to enable them to become bank holding companies under the BHC Act. If were to happen then those actions would have a serious detrimental impact on a firm’s customer base and it would result in a negative compounding affect on the nation’s economy.
In addition, thrifts are charted to promote home ownership and mortgage lending. The thrift charter and importance will be of even greater benefit going forward. The banking industry will pull back from mortgage lending, and has done so already, by making lending standards more difficult to achieve. This will mean that thrifts will become the major player in rebuilding our economy which is heavily dependent upon mortgage lending and real estate construction. Do away with the thrift charter, the thrift holding company and the OTS and you have essentially guaranteed that the U.S. economy will never recover and that Federal regulatory oversight will become bogged down in confusion, become over taxed from a resource standpoint, and contribute to our economic demise.
March 18th, 2010 at 12:28 am