Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders
explains the conflicting interests between Wall Street banks and the New York
Federal Reserve in charge of keeping them in check, as he and Sen. Barbara
Boxer push for legislation barring bankers from sitting on the regional boards
at the Federal Reserve. He sounds off on Jamie Dimon, the CEO of
JPMorgan, before Dimon’s testimony to the Senate Banking Committee on June 13th.
Video Transcript Excerpts:
Sen. Sanders says, “Wall Street is still acting like an ‘insane
gambling casino’ and no lessons were learned from the financial crisis of 2008
by the big banks.
Since Wall Street drove us into the worst financial crisis
since the depression, they have learned nothing about what financial
institutions in this country should be doing, which is investing in the
productive economy. Helping small businesses grow. Creating real jobs. Helping
us produce real goods and services.
The fed, among other things, is supposed to regulate
financial institutions, have people there to protect the consumers of this
country, yet you have the head of one of the largest banks (JP Morgan) as one
of the regulators regulating himself. If this is not a conflict of interest,
tell me what is? It’s like the fox guarding the hen house.”
Excerpts from Senator
Sanders Press Release:
In late-May, Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced legislation
to prohibit banking industry
executives from serving as directors of the 12 Federal
Reserve regional banks. The recent multi-billion-dollar trading loss at
JPMorgan Chase underscored the need to structurally reform the Federal Reserve
System to make a more democratic institution responsive to the needs of
ordinary Americans, not just Wall Street CEOs.
Sen. Barbara Boxer is an original co-sponsor of the measure
to end conflicts of interest involving regulators and the financial
institutions they regulate. "Allowing bank presidents to play such an
important role at the Fed - the institution that regulates their industry - is
a conflict of interest, plain and simple, and it must come to an end.
This legislation will help restore the confidence of the American people that
the Fed is a truly independent entity," Boxer told a Capitol news
conference.
Under current law, two-thirds of the Federal Reserve Bank
board members are directly appointed by the financial services industry and
one-third of the Fed directors are employed in the financial services industry
that the Fed is in charge of regulating.
Under the legislation, no one who works for or invests in a
firm eligible to receive direct financial assistance from the Fed would be
allowed to sit on the Fed's board of directors or be employed by the Fed.
(source: Full Court Press
with Bill Press)
(source: MSNBC Dennis Ratigan
Show)
(source: Office of Senator Bernard
Sanders)
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