The House Republican Steering Committee voted on Tuesday to name all committee chairman for the incoming Congress. Their choice to head the House Financial Services Committee, the committee in charge of overseeing the financial sector and the government's implementation of new financial reforms, happens to be the member of Congress most reliant on contributions from the financial sector.
Contributions from the finance, insurance and real estate sector accounted for 62.5 percent of all contributions received by Rep. Spencer Bachus, the incoming House Financial Services Committee chairman, during the 2010 election cycle. These contributions amounted to $1.23 million out of a total $1.97 million that Bachus' campaign and political action committees raised.
Federal Reserve Loan Program Allowed Bank of America to Benefit Twice
Bank of America was one of several banks that was able to play both sides of a Federal Reserve program launched during the 2008 financial crisis. While Bank of America was selling its assets to firms obtaining loans through the Fed program, the investment firm BlackRock—partially owned by Bank of America—was potentially turning a profit by using those loans to buy assets similar to those sold by Bank of America. In November 2008, the Federal Reserve announced that, in addition to a series of lending programs intended to keep both the U.S. and world economies liquid, it would begin issuing federally backed loans to entities willing to purchase securities from the troubled financial industry through a program called the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility or TALF.
Continue readingFederal Reserve releases financial crisis data sets
The Federal Reserve released a series of key data sets today as required under the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. The... View Article
Continue readingThe Fed to Release Critical Financial Info Tomorrow
Tomorrow, the Federal Reserve is supposed to release information regarding a suite of programs created to increase lending during height... View Article
Continue readingHead of government regulator received huge payment package from former financial industry employer
Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) chairwoman Mary Schapiro received nearly $9 million in compensation and retirement benefits from the Financial Industry... View Article
Continue readingConference committee members seek loopholes, receive high percentage of finance contributions
Four key lawmakers on the financial reform conference committee are seeking to create loopholes in the so-called Volcker Rule and... View Article
Continue readingCongressmen Appointed to Conference Committee Receive Contributions From Financial Industry
Over their careers, the thirty-one congressmen appointed to the conference committee to hash out differences between the House and Senate... View Article
Continue readingSenators Appointed to Conference Committee Connected to Financial Industry
Senators selected to work to combine the House and Senate financial regulation bills in a conference committee are some of... View Article
Continue readingSenate approves financial reform in a late night vote
The Senate passed sweeping financial reform legislation last night, aimed at keeping the financial sector from collapsing as it did in 2008. The final vote was 59-39, with four Republicans joining the majority party to get the bill through. Two Democrats remained opposed to the bill, saying the Senate measure didn't include tough enough regulations.
Republican Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins from Maine, Chuck Grassley from Iowa, and Scott Brown from Massachusetts all voted yes, with Grassley saying that this bill sends a message to Wall Street.
"There’s no question this bill has flaws," Grassley said. "Big ...
Financial reform moves to Senate vote
After a second procedural vote this afternoon, the Senate was able to shut down debate on S. 3217, Restoring American Financial Stability. Exactly three-fifths of the senate, including 3 Republicans, voted in favor of the motion, which passed 60-40. Two Democrats voted no.
It is likely that the final vote on the bill will be as early as tomorrow.
The newly elected senator from Massachusetts, Scott Brown, joined the two Republican Senators from Maine, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, in delivering yes votes. In a statement, Brown said he was assured by Sen. Reid, D-Nev., that “the issues related to ...
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