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Financial regulations
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'A bunch of disrespectful windbags': Comments of the week

ByVictoria Finkle
May 16, 2019 10:00 PM

Readers consider Senate Banking's investigation into Facebook's use of consumer data, weigh the value of the CFPB's complaints database, debate legislation that would require big bank executives to testify before Congress annually and more.

CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger
Kathy Kraninger, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), speaks during a discussion at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, April 17, 2019. Kraninger, confirmed in December by the Senate, took over an agency created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act that regulates everything from credit cards to mortgages. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
On an argument that bankers ignore the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's complaints database at their own risk:

" 'Each customer’s voice must be listened to' is a statement that feels good to say but in reality does not work. While some complaints are valid and should be looked into, a large percentage are worthless criticisms or gripes."

Related: It's a mistake to dismiss CFPB's complaint database
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The Facebook Inc. website is displayed for a photograph on an Apple Inc. laptop in an arranged photograph taken in New York, U.S., on Thursday, July 26, 2018. Facebook shares plunged 19 percent Thursday after second-quarter sales and user growth missed Wall Street estimates. Photographer: Johannes Berg/Bloomberg
Johannes Berg/Bloomberg
On a look at whether a congressional inquiry into Facebook's use of consumer financial data could kick off a deeper policy discussion:

"The efforts will remain bipartisan until Facebook figures out ways to make the two parties fight about who gets credit for anything ... and then this falls apart. And Facebook, Google, Twitter, etc. will continue to become bigger and more dangerous than most ever imagined."

Related: Is Senate Banking’s Facebook inquiry the start of something big?
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, listens to a question during a discussion at American University in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. Warren said she opposes Nafta 2.0 in a foreign policy speech and will vote against it unless President Donald Trump reopens the agreement and produces a better deal for Americas working families. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
On highlights from a recent Senate hearing with the banking regulators, including a heated exchange between Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting:

"What a bunch of disrespectful and insulting windbags! Perhaps the OCC should publicly disclose their assessment of Warren's competence, and highlight her lack of financial acumen. As a reminder punching bag Tim Sloan was put in place at Wells during Obama Administration in 2016."

Related: Gap between Democrats, GOP on bank regulation wide as ever
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Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., right, and Michael Corbat, chief executive officer of Citigroup Inc., are sworn into a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, April 10, 2019. The chief executives of some of the U.S.'s biggest banks should get ready for hostility as they're about to serve as political-theater targets at a House committee hearing, analysts say. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
On legislation that would require the chief executives of "systemically important" banks to testify before Congress every year:

"A law calling for a mandatory Congressional appearance by bankers? This provides a stark example of the Democrat philosophy. They don't govern. They rule. Republicans? They do neither."

Related: Dimon, other CEOs would testify each year under Democratic bill
Congress2.jpeg
American Capital Building in Washington DC at Dusk.
W.Scott McGill - stock.adobe.com
On a bill that would prohibit Congress from using fees paid to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to be used to offset unrelated federal spending:

"A great idea! Another bill recently reintroduced that made it through the House but luckily died in the Senate last year tries to use an increase in VA loan guarantee fees to pay for unrelated spending on veterans. This proposed bill could be improved if all GSE lending programs across FHA, VA, GNMA, USDA Rural Development and SBA were all included."

Related: Bill would prevent Congress from using g-fees as budget tool
Victoria Finkle
BankThink Editor , American Banker
Financial regulations Policymaking Customer service Customer experience CFPB News & Analysis Senate Banking Committee
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