Senate Banking Committee Slaps 'Giant Wall Street Banks,' Argues That Reform Helps Community Banks

The Obama administration and its congressional allies seem to be getting more aggressive in the push to pass financial regulatory reform. Last Wednesday, Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin lashed out at the Chamber of Commerce for its resistance to reform, calling its advertising campaign and lobbying misleading, dishonest and "backward."

Today, the Senate Banking Committee, chaired by Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), which recently passed Dodd's reform bill on party-line vote, takes a shot at "giant Wall Street banks" for manipulating the good reputation of smaller community banks in their lobbying efforts against reform.

On the committee's Website on Monday, staffers posted an article, "Fact Check: Community Banks Win With Financial Reform," which details several measures in the bill that will assist community banks around the country.

It begins:

WASHINGTON - Giant Wall Street banks are spending millions of dollars to lobby against financial reform.

These giant firms face one problem, money can't buy you love.

So, to try and sway public opinion, they are trying to take advantage of the well deserved reputation of their responsible smaller colleagues, community banks.

Some giant Wall Street firms abused their customers and took enormous risks that nearly brought down our economy while our nation's nearly 8,000 community banks have been responsible actors who have paid dearly for big banks' mistakes. The financial reform bill reflects those differences, imposing greater costs and restrictions on the superbanks, reining in the abuses that caused the crisis, but allowing community banks to continue serving their communities.

Read the whole piece here.

Comments

[lvdragonlady]

04:40 PM on 03/30/2010

This is a good thing, now if we could only get them all fined for not lending that would be icing on the cake. I have been making auto payments for the last 2 years, never missed a payment, never late but when I needed new financing for a newer vehicle, not 1 big bank would give me a loan, not even Citi and they were the ones that carried my last loan. I was given a loan from a credit union, at a better interest rate then I could have ever hoped for from the big banks.
Go to your local bank or credit union, it is so worth it and it will also show the big banks that WE the people do NOT need them.

[brushfinch]

08:54 AM on 03/30/2010

The big banks should not get tax refunds, nor should they be allowed to pay lobbyist until they have paid back everything they owe the American Taxpayer.

[ibsteve2u]

02:15 AM on 03/30/2010

It causes me great pain to say this, but I think we should offshore the regulation of banking, commodities, and stocks to China.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/business/global/30riotinto.html?pagewanted=1&emc=na

[bq]
China Sentences Rio Tinto Employees in Bribe Case
By DAVID BARBOZA
Published: March 29, 2010
SHANGHAI — Four employees of the British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto, including an Australian citizen, were found guilty Monday of accepting millions of dollars in bribes and stealing commercial secrets.

They were given sentences of 7 years to 14 years in prison, and were later dismissed by their employer.

[...]

Rio Tinto was not charged in the case, but in announcing its verdict Monday, the court essentially accused the company of using stolen information to harm China’s economic interests, costing Chinese steel mills an additional $150 million last year alone.

From 2003 to 2009, the court said, the four defendants used “improper means” to gain information that allowed Rio Tinto to “jack up the price that China paid for its iron ore imports.”
[eq]

And I wonder if we could get 'em to look at Big Oil and the hedge funds' role in the 2005-2007 surge in oil prices?

I'd give 'em Cheney and Bush, should it turn out that they were...involved....'cuz I am a nice guy.

[WIpatriot]

08:19 AM on 03/30/2010

Swift justice.

[LawTalkingGuy]

09:45 AM on 03/30/2010

Brilliant!

[PhilipTaylor]

01:21 AM on 03/30/2010

PURE BS by D0DD and SHELBY!

[PhilipTaylor]

01:49 AM on 03/30/2010

EXECUTIVES UNFAVORABLE BY 67% of Americans in Bloomberg Poll!

Americans don’t TRUST or LIKE our nation’s top corporate business executives!

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a4nQoiYaj2ag

[Carolab]

02:08 AM on 03/30/2010

They ha-te insurance companies and banks. They want the existing regulators to do their job and don't want a consumer protection agency. Obama says he will keep it "independent" -- with Fed oversight? LOL.

Only 31% have an unfavorable opinion of the Fed -- because they don't understand WHAT IT IS.

[freespeech2]

09:51 PM on 03/29/2010

"Some giant Wall Street firms abused their customers and took enormous risks that nearly brought down our economy while our nation's nearly 8,000 community banks have been responsible actors who have paid dearly for big banks' mistakes."

1. The key word here is "some" - not "all"
2. The statement that the "nations nearly 8,000 community banks have been responsible actors..." is a broad generalization and not accurate. Many smaller community banks have been mismanaged and failed.

[PhilipTaylor]

07:02 PM on 03/29/2010

Senator Sanders Survey:

http://sanders.senate.gov/polls/index.cfm

[WIpatriot]

08:16 AM on 03/30/2010

How do people vote "UNSURE??"

[mfyourmomscalling]

05:31 PM on 03/29/2010

THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION IS FULL OF LIES

[Jannsmoor]

06:42 PM on 03/29/2010

Not a helpful comment. Turn off Fox and step into reality.

[Antifascist-08]

07:36 PM on 03/29/2010

Caps won't make your argument, such as it is, any more truthful.

[freespeech2]

09:52 PM on 03/29/2010

Yeah, but the pointlessness is much easier to read...

[pjwrites]

04:14 PM on 03/29/2010

I don't believe that the big banks are going to get slapped, have ever been slapped, or will ever be slapped. The big bankers run this big, bad world of wealthy wannabes and our governments have made us all the bankers' toys.

First, our government needs to be replaced from top to bottom. Then, we need to get our currency back from the FED. Then, we need to never to remind our children over and over again what happened and why and never let them forget . . . and never let their children forget. . . . and never let their children's children forget. . .

[Wendy Davis]

12:51 AM on 03/30/2010

You are so correct. The blood, sweat and tears that went into the formation of this nation with actual love from the sounds of it to me, deserves to be fought for. This was not just banks abusing customers, this was skimming off the profits and more methodically and I believe in orchestra by a group of very rich men. And they aren't going anywhere and surely are not going to return to honest business practices. They must be stopped with laws of the land. There will be no recovery unless this is done. Men like them, they can never be rich enough.

[WIpatriot]

08:15 AM on 03/30/2010

I was about to post "There will be no slappage" so I'm glad I read your post.

[blueken]

03:44 PM on 03/29/2010

My local credit union does not require a min balance for free checking, does not charge me to have checks printed and has the lowest rates for mortgages and car loans. They do not sell my loans to other banks. Why on earth would I do business with the big banks?

[WIpatriot]

08:12 AM on 03/30/2010

Why, indeed!

Having been a member of my credit union for 30+ years, I can co-sign.

[vonmises2012]

03:06 PM on 03/29/2010

March 29 (Bloomberg) -- House Financial Services adviser Peter Roberson, whose job was to deal with banks and exchanges on behalf of Representative Barney Frank as new swaps legislation was crafted last year, has gone to work for Intercontinental Exchange Inc. as a lobbyist.

“This is a classic example of a revolving door abuse,” said Holman, government affairs lobbyist for the Washington- based advocacy group that supports stricter lobbying rules.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aOmI5Y1bRLEQ&pos=6

[DebtNavigation]

03:00 PM on 03/29/2010

Americans need to fight the big banks tooth, nail and claw until they are brought down. Their lifeblood is money. Keep it away from them.

In Mexico in the mid-'90s Wall Street engineered a currency coup that tripled the debt owed by small businesses and family farms and also allowed for them to be massively ratejacked on top of it. Mexicans consequently formed the "el Barzon" movement and pushed back Wall Street and deposed their ruling party of 60+ years. In this country YouTube phenom Ann Minch has already declared the debtors' revolt and begun going after them http://www.revoltstartsnow.com

If you've been pushed under, you can read every other page of my book for free: http://www.scribd.com/doc/25443175/Debt-Hope-Down-and-Dirty-Survival-Strategies-Evaluation-Version-Complete