Senate Banking Committee

The Ohio Democrat and chairman of the Senate Banking Committee told a virtual gathering of the American Bankers Association that FedAccounts, a plan opposed by industry trade groups, will lead to more bank customers.

The Senate Banking Committee is questioning whether Goldman Sachs Group paid dividends at the expense of lending to businesses and households during the pandemic as lawmakers take a broad look at the support big banks offered clients to get through the economic slump.

With a steady stream of Senate hearings held on the racial wealth gap and inequities in the financial system, the new chairman has set a consumer-focused agenda that leans further left than even past Democratic chairs.

The nomination of Gary Gensler as chairman of Securities and Exchange Commission will now be voted on by the full Senate, but Rohit Chopra's nomination to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau remains held up in the Senate Banking Committee.

Chair Jerome Powell told a congressional panel that the Federal Reserve is weighing whether to extend temporary relief from the “supplementary leverage ratio” — meant to help banks lend more during the pandemic — beyond March 31.

The Banking Committee will hold a confirmation hearing on March 2 for Rohit Chopra and Gary Gensler. They are the administration's picks, respectively, to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Sen. Richard Shelby. R-Ala., served two stints as head of the committee. He announced Monday that he will not run for reelection when his term expires.

Steve Daines of Montana, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming are joining the panel for the 117th Congress.

Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, who won runoff elections to flip party control of the Senate, were assigned to sit on the panel for the 117th Congress.

Marcia Fudge told senators that her first priority as secretary would be to assist renters and homeowners struggling financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic.