FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, October 24, 2021
Contact: Evelyn Swan at 202-618-6433 or eswan@bettermarkets.org

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Dennis Kelleher, Co-founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Better Markets, issued the following statement in response to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s defense of Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell’s deregulation record:

“Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was dead wrong in her defense on CNN this morning of Chair Powell’s record of dangerously deregulating banks over the last four years.  She said “during his term, and during my term and Bernanke’s term, regulation of financial institutions has been markedly strengthened…. And those improvements have stayed in place during the Powell regime.” That is simply not accurate.

“It is telling that those who make such preposterous claims never discuss specifics of Chair Powell’s deregulatory actions.  The facts prove that Chair Powell has dangerously deregulated the banks, that the banking industry is much less resilient today than it was before he was Chair, and that the risk of taxpayer bailouts is higher.  That is established conclusively and in detail by Governor Brainard’s repeated dissents as well as FDIC Director Gruenberg’s dissents to deregulatory rule after rule after rule under Chair Powell’s leadership.

“The good news is that you don’t have read all those dissents over the years and piece together what was going on.  Better Markets wrote two detailed reports that did just that and they are available here: “Federal Reserve Actions Under the Trump Administration Have Significantly Weakened Post-Crisis Banking Reforms” (Dec. 3, 2020) and “Should Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell Be Reappointed?” (Aug. 23, 2021) (pps. 3-4, 7-9, 29-35).

“Agree or disagree about Chair Powell’s other policies or his suitability for renomination, but the facts prove that he has reigned over the dangerous deregulation of the banking industry contrary to Sect. Yellen’s and Chair Powell’s claims.”

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Better Markets is a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent organization founded 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