BankThink

March 23-27: More clawbacks, less bankruptcy reform

There isn´t too much time left before Congress´ Easter recess and the consensus is now that the bankruptcy reform legislation the House passed won´t make it through the Senate before everyone leaves town. But that doesn´t mean this week in Washington will be a quiet one. Furor over the bonuses paid to American International Group executives has upended many formerly solid power dynamics on the Hill. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd may be in trouble and, judging from his swift plunge, the next victim of unchecked populist grandstanding is anyone´s guess. Somewhere in the fray is a bill that would claw back most bonus payouts not just from AIG employees but from some Troubled Asset Relief Program fund recipients as well. Dark times indeed for those bankers and perhaps the source of a comment during Thursday´s Senate Small Business Committee hearing that there ought to be separate bailout programs for "good people" and "bad people."

Tuesday

At 10am, the House Financial Services Committee is holding a full committee hearing on the AIG bailouts, and expects to hear from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. Tune in to BankThink for live blogging, so as not to miss a single dodge, weave, or blow.

The committee will also mark up a bill on executive compensation limits.

Meanwhile, the Senate Banking Committee will hold a 10am hearing designed as the continuation of last week´s regulatory restructuring discussion. Witnesses have not been announced.

Wednesday

The Financial Services Committee will examine "the balance between increased credit availability and prudent lending standards" starting at 10am. Witnesses have yet to be announced, but state and federal regulators are expected to be represented.

Thursday

The Financial Services Committee will hold a 10am hearing on regulatory restructuring. There´s no official witness list yet, but it will be interesting to see whether the discussion goes in the same direction that the Senate Banking Committee took last week with a new focus on giving the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. the power to resolve systemically important institutions.

Senate Banking will hold a 9:30am hearing on strengthening regulation in the securities markets, at which the Securities and Exchange Commission is sure to be represented.

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