WASHINGTON, D.C.— Dennis Kelleher, Co-founder, President, and CEO, issued the following statement in connection with the release of a Fact Sheet detailing “The Truth About Wall Street’s Massive Misleading Lobbying Campaign Against Necessary Capital” issued in connection with the Basel III Endgame proposals.

“The new, long overdue, and very modest capital requirements proposed by banking regulators primarily focus on megabanks’ dangerous, higher risk trading and investment activities. These proposed rules will only apply to the largest, most significant banks – less than 100 of the 4,700 banks in the country. Because those rules threaten to reduce megabank executives’ bonuses, the megabanks and their allies have led a massive propaganda campaign that is a smokescreen to hide their self-interest and misinform the American public about these rules.

“In our fact sheet, we lay out the most frequent false claims made by the banking industry, and rebut them with facts and data.”

Below are the megabanks key false claims that are rebutted in the fact sheet:

• Higher capital will harm the economy and the American people.
• Banks survived the pandemic, so they don’t need more capital.
• Higher capital requirements will make borrowing more expensive for all Americans.
• Higher capital will hurt Main Street small businesses.
• Higher capital requirements will force banks to limit mortgage lending, especially to minority borrowers.
• Large banks have more capital now than in 2008, so therefore they don’t need any more.
• If bank capital requirements are increased, financial activity will shift from banks to the dangerously unregulated “shadow banks.”
• Higher capital requirements put U.S. banks at a global disadvantage.
• We need more time to understand the effects of higher capital.

###

Better Markets is a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent organization founded in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to promote the public interest in the financial markets, support the financial reform of Wall Street and make our financial system work for all Americans again. Better Markets works with allies—including many in finance—to promote pro-market, pro-business and pro-growth policies that help build a stronger, safer financial system that protects and promotes Americans’ jobs, savings, retirements and more. To learn more, visit www.bettermarkets.org.