Pressley's Bill Would Strengthen Oversight Of Banks 'To Big To Fail'

Legislation would provide greater oversight, transparency for eight largest banks

Rep Ayanna Pressley's efforts to secure greater oversight for eight of the so-called banks “to big to fail” took a big step forward this week when the House Financial Services Committee passed her Greater Supervision in Banking Act.

The legislation would strengthen congressional oversight of the eight U.S.-based banks commonly known as “to big to fail,” or more formally known as Globally Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs), which includes JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, State Street, and Bank of New York Mellon.

JP Morgan Chase is one of eight US banks which would be affected by new legislation advancing in the House

Pressley discussed the legislation Thursday during a committee markup. Full video of her remarks is available here.

The Greater Supervision in Banking Act, which Rep. Pressley re-introduced in the 117th Congress last week, strengthens Congressional oversight of the country’s largest banks in order to protect consumers and prevent deceptive behavior from financial institutions. Specifically, the bill requires the banks to submit an annual a public report including, among other things, information about their size and complexity, market activity, employee wages, diversity, climate risk and environmental harms, misconduct, use of forced arbitration, cybersecurity measures, and any enforcement or regulatory actions taken against them over the past year.

Pressley, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, calls herself a vocal advocate for consumer protections and ensuring that the U.S. banking system works for everyday Americans. In April 2019, she questioned G-SIB CEOs about discriminatory lending practices during their first appearance before Congress in over a decade.

She has also introduced the Payment Modernization Act – legislation requiring a more reasonable timeline for the Federal Reserve’s faster payments system and prioritizing consumer protection and wellbeing in the development process. 

You can go here for the Bill Text and for a One-Pager on the legislation.