By David Dayen and Ryan Grim
Liberal groups have grown
concerned that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer will squander his
power to recommend Democratic nominees for financial regulatory
commissions by sending up milquetoast, industry-friendly functionaries,
instead of stalwarts opposed to loosening rules on big banks.
At issue are two Democratic seats open
on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and one on the Securities
and Exchange Commission. Last month, over 30 labor, progressive, and consumer groups urged Schumer to select nominees with a “demonstrated willingness to stand up to Wall Street.”
But Schumer, D-N.Y., has been slow to
act on the SEC vacancy. For the FDIC, he’s close to re-appointing former
Chair Martin Gruenberg, fresh off his role in shepherding through a major weakening
of the so-called Volcker rule, a Dodd-Frank provision barring
deposit-taking institutions from risky trading with customer funds.
Gruenberg was the only Democratic bank regulator to vote for the
deregulation proposal, and Schumer subsequently rewarding him with a
re-appointment would be taken as disappointing signal.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said that
Schumer is taking the pressure from progressive groups seriously when it
comes to naming commissioners. “They make critical decisions that
affect communities like the one I live in, in the central ward in
Newark, and it’s something that I’m really concerned with on a whole
raft of issues, from access to capital to fair-lending practices,” he
said. “You’re seeing a whole bunch of things really affecting the
average working American, and I think Schumer’s conscious of those
things, and that’s why he’s spent so much time talking to progressive
groups.”
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Source: The Intercept_
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