Senate Republicans Tackle Woke Banking; Democrats Turn Again to Zelle, Fees
Senate Banking’s hearing with big-bank CEOs proved much more combative than HFSC’s session yesterday (see Client Report REFORM212). From the outset, Republican Senators condemned what they characterized as serious threats of banking politicization around social and cultural issues, with Ranking Member Toomey (R-PA) predicting a Republican counter-offensive should his party regain control. He also said that the Fed’s decision to join other central banks and supervisors in implementing climate scenario analysis is a precursor to regulatory edicts pressuring banks to divest from energy companies. Republicans also emphasized that high regulatory-capital requirements have undue macroeconomic effects. As predicted, Democratic focused extensively on Zelle and bank fees.