So why are Republican senators all of a sudden wanting tougher bank regulation?
By Joan McCarter Wednesday Sep 21, 2016 · 5:11 PM CST
Richard Shelby doesn't care if your bank defrauded you.
Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby and other congressional Republicans seemingly have a newfound desire to regulate the banks. It's a remarkable thing, really, to see a spectacle like Tuesday's hearing where Wells Fargo's CEO was raked over the coals by Democrats and Republicans alike. So why did Shelby have this hearing? Oh, that's right: to attack the CFPB, the agency that got the $100 million fine from Wells Fargo.
The answer, of course, is that the CFPB knew about the abuses before the LA Times reported them, and they had started investigating months before the newspaper story in 2013, after being contacted by a whistleblower. It conducted an investigation, eventually merging with the Los Angeles city attorney’s investigation.
Make no mistake—Shelby isn't worried that the CFPB wasn't effective enough against Wells Fargo. He doesn't give a fig for all of the Wells Fargo customers who were defrauded by the bank. He's just looking for any excuse at all to continue his years-long crusade to destroy the agency.
Let's get the Banking Committee chairmanship to Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Ohio Democrat who it will revert to when Democrats regain the Senate.