In her first six weeks on the job, White House adviser Elizabeth
Warren has held meetings, lunches and phone calls with top
financial industry executives, the very officials who probably have
the most angst about the consumer watchdog agency she is charged
with setting up.
The Treasury Department Wednesday finally revealed details of
Warren's schedule from Sept. 20 to Nov. 2 after the Wall Street
Journal and possibly other news organizations filed Freedom of
Information Act requests.
The schedule shows that Warren, a Harvard law professor and
long-time banking industry critic, has been very open to meeting
with the nation's top bankers as she works to launch the Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau and as the Obama administration works
to ease Wall Street fears that it is antibusiness.
The financial industry and conservative Republicans in the U.S.
Congress had fought hard against the creation of the bureau,
arguing that the bureau has too much power, and its policies could
make it harder for consumers to obtain credit.
But that hasn't stopped Warren from getting on the road to meet
face-to-face with bank executives. According to the Treasury
document, she has met with the heads of Citigroup Inc. (C), U.S.
Bancorp (USB), T.D. Bank, and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM),
among others.
She is very serious about reaching out to the industry,
including large and small banks alike, a Treasury official said
Wednesday. He added that Warren, in the meetings, mostly focuses on
the bureau's key priorities, which are to simplify credit card and
mortgage disclosures.
Industry sources say the meetings have been cordial,
meet-and-greet sessions, and they are encouraged about Warren's
level of outreach -- even if banks do still carry serious concerns
about the bureau's upcoming action on credit cards and
mortgages.
"I've talked to her several times on the phone and elsewhere,
and she's been very cordial and so in Washington, any time you can
have good discussion and exchanges it's a good thing," said
American Bankers Association President and Chief Executive Edward
Yingling. "The proof is if we come up with things that are workable
in the end. That remains to be seen."
Yingling said he sees room for Warren to gain a better
understanding of the industry's concerns about regulatory cost and
burdens and for the industry to gain better understanding about her
concerns for consumers.
Still, he noted that banks have been very concerned about Warren
and some of her positions on bankruptcy reform. There are also
questions about how much power the agency has given that an
official director has yet to be named.
"Everybody's waiting to see who's in charge of what and exactly
how this progresses," Yingling said. "She's listening but we would
expect her to stick to her principles."
According to the schedule, Warren had breakfast in late
September with Richard Davis, the chief executive of U.S. Bancorp
at Old Ebbitt Grill, a popular Washington restaurant near the White
House and Treasury Department.
Also in late September, she held a phone call with American
Express Co. (AXP) Chief Executive Kenneth Chenault. She also met
with Chenault in mid-October, according to Warren's calendar, which
notes that Chenault specifically flew to Washington just to meet
with her.
On Sept. 30, Warren met with TD Bank Financial Group President
and Chief Executive Officer Edmund Clark on Capitol Hill.
Early in October, Warren met with UBS Group Americas Chairman
and Chief Executive Robert Wolf. She met with Citigroup Chief
Executive Vikram Pandit in New York on Oct. 4. A couple of days
later, she had an afternoon meeting with HSBC North America
Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Niall Booker.
Also in October, Warren met with J.P. Morgan Chief Executive
Jamie Dimon.
In October, she talked with officials from Deutsche Bank AG (DB)
and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), as well as the Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer of Discover Financial Services (DFS) David
Nelms.
Later in October, she met with Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC)
President and Chief Executive John Stumpf and in early November,
she met with Morgan Stanley (MS) Executive Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer Ruth Porat.
Warren has also spoken with Yingling of ABA, met and eaten with
Financial Services Roundtable President Steve Bartlett, met with
Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association President Tim
Ryan and eaten in the Treasury dining room with Rob Nichols, who
heads a financial policy organization comprising the chief
executives of more than a dozen large financial firms.
Warren has also been in contact with other groups that could be
affected by the new bureau's rules and policies. For instance,
Warren has met twice with the National Retail Federation's General
Counsel Mallory Duncan. The group is particularly interested in
so-called interchange fees and other financial rules that could
affect merchants.
Warren, has also met with several representatives of community
bankers and credit unions.
She also been in touch with other government officials. She
spoke with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Sept. 30, just
a little over a week after being appointed.
Meanwhile, key U.S. lawmakers made it onto her schedule as well,
including her critics. She has spoken to Rep. Spencer Bachus, the
Alabama Republican expected to lead the House Financial Services
Committee in January, who earlier this week criticized the consumer
bureau for not disclosing information. She has also spoken with
Sen. Richard Shelby, who has also spoken critically of the
bureau.
-By Maya Jackson Randall, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6687,
maya.jackson-randall@dowjones.com
Grafico Azioni Discover Financial Servi... (NYSE:DFS)
Storico
Da Giu 2024 a Lug 2024
Grafico Azioni Discover Financial Servi... (NYSE:DFS)
Storico
Da Lug 2023 a Lug 2024
