Working to give the public the transparency it deserves: Last week, Better Markets filed a motion to give the public the transparency it deserves in MetLife vs. FSOC, MetLife’s lawsuit challenging the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s (FSOC) designation of the global insurance company as a possible systemic risk. This is a landmark case that could define the government’s ability to prevent future financial crises like the 2008 crash for years to come.
This lawsuit has the potential to eviscerate the FSOC, one of the most important institutions established under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform law. As we’ve outlined, the FSOC is the only entity responsible for identifying and reducing the threat to financial stability from non-banks like AIG and MetLife and ensuring that all regulators are working together to prevent financial crashes.
In MetLife v. FSOC, MetLife is attempting to nullify the FSOC’s judgment that, as a globally significant and interconnected insurance conglomerate, MetLife should be subject to enhanced supervision by financial regulators. A decision in favor of MetLife could erase that crucial new layer of oversight and paralyze the FSOC in its ability to address other systemic risks to the financial system before they ignite another financial crisis.
Despite the case’s importance, more than half of the record has been sealed and hidden from public view based on private negotiations and agreements. Two-thirds of the core body of evidence that the parties are relying on to make their case—and that the court will rely on to render its decision—has been filed under seal. The court has never independently assessed whether the blanket sealing of so much information is justified or whether the parties’ interests in confidentiality outweigh the public interest in transparency.
The public has a presumptive right of access to judicial records that is firmly established in the law, deeply rooted in our history and tradition, and essential to the integrity of our democracy. Our motion with the court seeks to vindicate this right of access to the fullest possible extent.
It’s time to lift the veil of secrecy from these proceedings. This motion is not anti-FSOC or anti-MetLife, it’s pro-transparency. The public has a fundamental right to the records in this historic case, and we’re working to give them the access they expect and deserve. To learn more, download our fact sheet, memo, and motion.
Better Markets Senior Fellow Robert Jenkins keynotes Finance Watch conference: Better Markets Senior Fellow Robert Jenkins – one of the most articulate and forceful advocates for strong, sensible regulation of the financial industry – recently gave the keynote address at Finance Watch’s conference, “Confidence, ethics, and incentives in the financial sector.” His speech, “When Timidity Triumphs…” highlights the challenges within our banking system when financial institutions are “too big to fail, bail and jail,” and the need to restore accountability in our financial system.
You can download his address here, and learn more about the conference here. You can also read more about Mr. Jenkins’ work here, and learn more about the great work that Finance Watch is doing to help make finance serve society by visiting their website.
Better Markets in the News:
Dem Candidates Shine a Light on “Shadow Banking”: CBS MoneyWatch by Robert Hennelly 11-23-2015
The Case for Openness in MetLife’s Too-Big-to-Fail Challenge: Reuters by Alison Frankel 11-20-2015
Consumer Group Fights Secrecy in MetLife’s Suit over ‘Too Big to Fail’ Designation: The National Law Journal by C. Ryan Barber 11-20-2015 (Paywall)
News You Don’t Want to Miss:
A New Threat to Your Retirement: New York Times by Teresa Tritch 11-19-2015
Barclays Fined $150m Over Electronic Forex Trading: Financial Times by Gina Chon and Katie Martin 11-18-2015
