As was previously announced the House Financial Services Committee will be holding a hearing tomorrow (September 21st) entitled “Holding Megabanks Accountable: Oversight of America’s Largest Consumer Facing Banks.” The largest banks in the US will each have CEOs participating in the hearing, including:
- Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
- Brian Moynihan, Chairman and CEO, Bank of America
- Jane Fraser, CEO, Citigroup
- Andy Cecere, Chairman, President, and CEO, U.S. Bancorp
- William Demchak, Chairman, President, and CEO, The PNC Financial Services Group
- William Rogers Jr., Chairman and CEO, Truist Financial Corporation
- Charles Scharf, President and CEO, Wells Fargo & Company
The Hearing Memo has been posted as well as prepared testimony which foreshadows some of the lines of questioning but you can anticipate queries by the Members to veer from the outline.
Beyond issues of enforcement actions, consumer protection, inaccurate credit scores, DEI, and other perceived or real transgressions, the future of banking, IE Fintech or digital banking, is a topic that will most certainly emerge.
According to the memo:
“Financial technology [Fintech] continues to transform the financial system, particularly with the growth of digital banking, the rise of digital assets including cryptocurrencies, and the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) including machine learning (ML), to aid customer relations, fraud detection, and underwriting. In 2017, a network of banks, including BofA, Citi, JPM, and Wells Fargo, launched Zelle, a payment application that allows consumers to make digital payments instantly. Recent news reports have noted that fraud has flourished on the platform, highlighting how quickly bad actors can siphon away “thousands of dollars in seconds” after tricking consumers into sending money via Zelle. Despite this, many financial institutions have stated that refunding defrauded consumers is not their responsibility, since many of the fraudulent transactions were initiated by customers tricked into initiating the transfers. Citi, JPM, and Wells Fargo have made investments in distributed ledger and blockchain-related companies that may offer cryptocurrencies. JPM has developed the JPM Coin digital currency which “is a permissioned system that serves as a payment rail and deposit account ledger, that allows participating J.P. Morgan clients to transfer US Dollars held on deposit with J.P. Morgan within the system.” Meanwhile, Federal banking regulators have issued guidance that requires a bank notify their primary regulator before engaging in these activities, while highlighting related risks to safety and soundness, consumer protection, and financial stability such activities may pose.”
A series of pending legislation is tied to the Hearing as well.
The prepared testimony of each CEO is available below.
The Hearing commences at 10AM ET and will be live-streamed on the Committee’s website.
- Andy Cecere
- William Demchak
- Jamie Dimon
- Jane Fraser
- Brian Moynihan
- William Rogers Jr.
- Charles Scharf