Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, released the following statement on the Federal Reserve’s decision today to raise the target range for the federal funds rate: “While I don’t agree with the Fed’s decision to raise rates, I am a strong advocate of an independent Federal Reserve free of political interference. I am concerned that under the ne... Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, spoke on the House floor opposing H.R. 5143 as the next bill in the Trump agenda that would benefit Wall Street at the expense of financial stability. “This week’s gift is less oversight of the largest insurers in the U.S., which will put us at risk for another AIG,” Waters said, noting the global insurer wa... Read more »

Today, leading Democratic lawmakers called on the Department of Labor (DOL) to hold a public hearing on its recent proposals to let five megabanks with a history of criminal misconduct to continue managing assets of U.S. pension funds under the preferred status of “qualified professional asset manager” (QPAMs). The letter was signed by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Com... Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, issued the following statement after President-elect Trump announced he will nominate Dr. Ben Carson to serve as Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): “Dr. Carson’s nomination to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is frightening. He may be a brain surgeon... Read more »

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) was re-elected unanimously by the Democratic Caucus to serve as Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services for her third term. She released the following statement: “I am honored to have been re-elected to lead the House Financial Services Committee in the 115th Congress. We face many challenges in the years ahead, with President-elect Trump thr... Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, spoke on the House floor opposing H.R. 6392, a bill that would let President-elect Trump’s Wall Street-friendly administration deregulate 27 of the largest banks in the country. “H.R. 6392 would repeal Dodd-Frank’s $50 billion threshold, above which banks are subject to closer regulatory scrutiny, and preven... Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, issued the following statement on reports that President-elect Trump will nominate Steven Mnuchin to serve as the next Treasury Secretary: “Donald Trump ran a campaign on anti-Wall Street rhetoric, but appointing a former hedge fund manager, Goldman Sachs executive, and bank CEO as Treasury Secretary shows h... Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, signed onto an amicus brief filed today with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s petition to have the entire court revisit an earlier decision by a three-judge panel that struck down the Bureau’s structure. Waters was joined by 20 current and former Memb... Read more »

Today, top Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee sent a letter to Inspectors General at federal financial services agencies, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Justice, calling on them to root out any potential conflicts of interests in President-elect Donald Trump’s administration. Led by Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA), the letter was also si... Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, spoke on the House floor opposing H.R. 5711, a bill that would undermine the Iran nuclear deal, thereby jeopardizing both U.S. and global security. “I am particularly concerned that this bill comes at a time of deep global uncertainty about U.S. foreign policy," Waters said. "We have a President-elect whose ... Read more »

The leading Democrats on the Senate Banking and House Financial Services Committees today urged Congressional leaders to reject any attempts to use must-pass government funding legislation to repeal, weaken, or delay financial reforms and consumer protections. In a letter to Senate and House leaders, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) said they will oppose ideological policy r... Read more »

Today, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ranking Member of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services; Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA); and Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN) sent an open letter to financial services trade groups demanding that they condemn the appointment of Stephen Bannon to President-... Read more »

In her opening statement at a full committee hearing with Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, denounced President-elect Trump’s stances on financial services and Congressional Republicans’ deregulatory Wall Street agenda. “The demise of the regulations that Wall Street is cheering are the... Read more »

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, sent a letter to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) expressing serious concern over a seven-year delay in the public availability of Wells Fargo’s performance evaluation under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The letter is the latest in Waters’ ongoing efforts to hold Wells Fargo... Read more »

Last week, a panel of conservative judges from the D.C. Circuit Court challenged the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is the only federal agency solely dedicated to protecting consumers’ financial interests. Here’s a look at what that decision really means: Don't disarm consumer protection: Our view, USA Today “Despite all their complaints about the new financial cop on... Read more »

In a guest column in the Baton Rouge Advocate this week, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, discussed the need for Congress to erase the National Flood Insurance Program’s $23 billion debt so that homeowners and businesses can rely on an affordable and sustainable program to protect them financial in the face of disaster: “I am calling on Con... Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, released the following statement today in response to an announcement by Wells Fargo & Company saying that Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John G. Stumpf would retire from the company, effective immediately: “Given Mr. Stumpf’s failure of oversight at Wells Fargo, I believe it is more than appropriate t... Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, issued the following statement on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision today regarding the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB): “The CFPB is a critical part of the Dodd-Frank Act and has returned nearly $12 billion to more than 27 million consumers by going after fraud at large ... Read more »

In light of more than 2 million fraudulent deposit and credit card account openings at Wells Fargo, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, and 10 Committee Democrats urged financial regulators to strengthen a proposed “clawback” rule regarding when a financial institution must revoke senior executives’ bonuses. In their letter, the Members unders... Read more »

In her opening statement at a full committee hearing on the unauthorized accounts at Wells Fargo, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, urged Chairman and CEO John Stumpf to tell the truth about the fraudulent activity that occurred and take full responsibility. “We still do not have the information we need to understand how this happened, when ... Read more »

Today, 104 House Democrats, led by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) urging it to adopt a strong final payday lending rule and close loopholes that harm consumers. Congress gave the CFPB the authority to study and regulate the payday lending industry to curb its predatory pract... Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, stressed the need for robust regulatory oversight of financial institutions in her opening statement at a hearing today with Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. “The Dodd-Frank Act has required regulators to increase capital and liquidity standards, reduce interconnection in the financial markets, and more c... Read more »

Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, issued the following statement on Republicans’ continuing resolution (CR) that would fund the government until December: “Republicans have proposed a continuing resolution to fund our government and services to the American people that is simply unacceptable. This CR is an insult to the people of Flin... Read more »

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, discussed the importance of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) in keeping our financial system safe at a hearing today with Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew on the FSOC’s annual report to Congress. “With Wall Street reform, we created the FSOC to look across the entire financial system, identify... Read more »

Delivering remarks on the House floor in opposition to H.R. 5461 today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, denounced the “Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act” as an attempt to threaten the viability of the Iran nuclear deal. In her remarks, Waters noted that this bill is the “latest in a series of Republican efforts aimed at undermining... Read more »