FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
Contact: Nick Jacobs, 202-618-6430 or njacobs@bettermarkets.com
Washington, D.C. – Dennis Kelleher, President and CEO of Better Markets, issued the following statement following President Trump’s comments today on the Dodd-Frank Act:
“President Trump’s promise today to give the Dodd-Frank financial reform law a ‘major haircut’ would make another catastrophic financial crash much more likely. It would recklessly endanger American’s jobs, homes and savings, and likely cost far more than the $20 trillion lost in 2008.
“The President is wrong to say that banking and lending has ground to a halt because of the Dodd-Frank protections. In fact, profits at Wall Street’s biggest banks are higher than ever and lending at all levels and in all sectors continues to increase. This verifiable data proves that the Dodd-Frank financial protections not only stabilized the financial industry, but also enabled sustainable and durable economic growth.
“Because of these financial protections, the United States’ biggest banks are safer and more stable than European and other banks which remain fragile and burdened with bad loans and insufficient capital. Indeed, those banks remain so weak they are unable to support adequate growth in the real economy and occasionally teeter on the brink of failure. Former Goldman Sachs COO and now Chairman of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn admitted this on Bloomberg TV last year while acknowledging the importance of financial reform regulations and higher capital requirements.”
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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.com.
