Senator Phil Gramm's Statement on Regulations for Merchant Banking
Source: U.S. Senate Banking Committee
Sen. Phil Gramm, chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, made the following statement today at a joint hearing of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and the Subcommittee on Securities regarding the interim rule and proposed regulations implementing the merchant banking provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act:"When we set out to modernize financial services under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, our clear intention was to set up a structure whereby banks could diversify their financial activities. As the bill was structured in this committee, those financial activities related to merchant banking were to be conducted in holding companies.
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Opening Statement of Senator Rod Grams (R-MN)
Source: U.S. Senate Banking Committee
Last fall as we were concluding our deliberations on the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Bill I suggested to Chairman Phil Gramm that it would be necessary for the Banking Committee to follow our bill drafting efforts with extensive oversight hearings. At the time, I had no specific hearing ideas in mind, but it was clear that a bill with as many significant components as Gramm-Leach-Bliley would bear careful oversight scrutiny.
In that spirit, the Securities Subcommittee held an oversight hearing in April on the NARAB provisions of Gramm-Leach. As everyone will recall, the NARAB provisions call for cooperative action by a majority of U.S. states and territories. Such a provision, requiring cooperative efforts from multiple players is a good example of a clear need for oversight.
Today we are holding a second oversight hearing. Because of both the significance of the issue and the overlapping jurisdiction, my colleague, Senator Bennett, Chairman of the Financial Institutions Subcommittee and I agree that a joint hearing of our two subcommittees will best serve this purpose. [
Joint Hearing on Merchant Banking Regulations Pursuant to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999
Source: U.S. Senate Banking Committee
Under Secretary for Domestic Finance, United States Treasury
Member of the Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System
President, BancBoston Capital
On behalf of The Financial Services Roundtable
Managing Partner, Chase Capital Partners
On behalf of The Financial Services Roundtable
President, Securities Industry Association
Partner, Norwest Equity Partners
On Behalf of the ABA Securities Association and the American Bankers Association
Chairman and CEO, Century National Bank
On Behalf of the Independent Community Bankers of America
