CEOs of Big Banks Face Off with House Democrats

NEW YORK (AP) — The heads of some of the largest banks in the U.S. are appearing in front of Congress Wednesday, for the most significant hearing on the banking industry since Democrats took control of the House.

In their prepared testimony, the chief executives of JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, along with the CEOs of five other banks, are telling the House Financial Services Committee they've taken steps to improve the stability of their institutions in the 10 years since the financial crisis.

Committee members are likely to ask the CEOs about recent efforts to pare back some of the financial rules that were put in place following the crisis.

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Among those appearing are Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan, David Solomon of Goldman and Brian Moynihan of Bank of America. The CEOs of Citigroup, Bank of New York Mellon, State Street and Morgan Stanley are also appearing in front of Congress. One executive not appearing in front of Congress is Tim Sloan, who resigned from his position at Wells Fargo last week, days after a separate appearance before the finance committee.

The backdrop of this hearing is the 10-year anniversary of the 2008-2009 financial crisis. The banking system required extraordinary efforts by regulators — and a bailout by the United States taxpayer — in order to survive. All seven banks appearing in front of Congress received funds under the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, and all paid billions of dollars in penalties and fines for their behavior heading into the housing bubble.

But at the same time, the hearing also comes after the banking industry had a record year for profits in 2018 thanks to the tax cuts passed by Republicans in 2017. Meanwhile, the banking industry's lobbyists have been pushing Congress to further unwind the rules and regulations put into place after the 2008 financial crisis.

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By AP reporter Ken Sweet

 

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