Warren: Powell “took the flamethrower” to banking regulations

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) took aim at Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Sunday, saying he “took a flamethrower” at banking regulations during the Trump administration.

“Donald Trump ran for president saying he was going to ease regulations on these banks,” Warren said during an interview on CBS’ “Face The Nation.” “And then Jerome Powell literally took a flamethrower to these regulations, in order to make them less effective and less effective.”

Powell and the Federal Reserve came under fire in the wake of the Silicon Valley bank collapse earlier this month, which sent shock waves through the banking industry. Many liberals have referred to Powell’s time as head of the central bank as a period of rapid deregulation.

Powell was appointed to head the Fed by former President Trump in 2018. Under his leadership, the central bank has rolled back some key regulatory actions, including divesting some of the tools in the landmark Dodd-Frank banking reform package passed after the 2008 economic crisis. . With help from Congress, the Fed reduced the number of banks that were under stronger federal oversight.

Then President Biden reappointed Powell early last year, with some progressive Democrats, including Warren, rebuffing the decision to give Powell another term at the Fed.

“Jerome Powell said all he wanted was to ease regulations on the banks,” Warren said on CBS. “I opposed him as chairman of the Fed for precisely that reason.”

As federal officials continue to grapple with the collapse of the Silicon Valley bank and its backlash, Warren has called for accountability from both regulators and bank executives.

“We need to hold regulators who are clearly down in business accountable, and that starts with Jerome Powell,” Warren said. “And we need to hold the CEOs of these large financial institutions accountable.”