Elizabeth Warren's Top Financial Priorities
November 17, 2013 4:00 PM
Since taking her Senate seat more than 10 months ago, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has continued her intense criticism of big banks. But she has also focused on other areas in the financial services realm, covering everything from housing finance reform to student loan debt. Following is a guide to the Massachusetts Democrat's biggest banking issues.
(Image: Bloomberg News)
'Too Big to Fail'
Far and away, Sen. Warren's biggest concern is that the largest banks remain too big to fail despite the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act three years ago. She has championed a bill that would restore the Depression-era Glass-Steagall Act that separated commercial and investment banking. "It's time to act ," she said last week.
(Image: Bloomberg News)
'Too Small To Succeed'
Contrasting with her work on "too big to fail," the Massachusetts lawmaker has been vocal about the regulatory burden facing smaller institutions , raising questions about the need for a two-tier regulatory system and expressing concern about the impact of Basel III capital standards on community banks.
Housing Finance Reform
Sen. Warren has only recently weighed in on the pending battle over the future of the government-sponsored enterprises , but she's likely to be a key player in the debate going forward. She has praised the bipartisan bill from Sens. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Mark Warner, D-Va., yet she has also raised reservations about how it would work in practice.
(Image: Bloomberg News)
Forcing Banks to Acknowledge Guilt
Advocates have praised Warren for calling regulators out on the practice of settling with banks without forcing them to admit guilt, an issue that appears to be gaining some traction. Not long after she brought her concerns to light, the SEC announced it would begin pursuing admission of guilt in some cases, and JPMorgan Chase recently confessed to wrongdoing in deals with that agency and the CFTC over the London Whale debacle.
(Image: Thinkstock)
The Independent Foreclosure Review
Warren has repeatedly pressed regulators about the handling of the troubled independent foreclosure review process and subsequent settlement with mortgage servicers.
(Image: Thinkstock)
Student Loan Interest Rates
Warren's first standalone bill in Congress was a shot over the bow at the broken federal student loans system - it would have temporarily set student loan rates to match the very low rate that big banks utilize to borrow from the Federal Reserve.
(Image: Bloomberg News)
Sallie Mae's Funding Advantages
The freshman senator shined a bright spotlight earlier this year on an $8.5 billion line of credit Sallie Mae has with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, arguing that the bank's funds are supposed to be used to help community banks finance mortgages, not prop up the student loan provider .
(Image: Bloomberg News)
Defending the CFPB
Unsurprisingly, Warren has been one of the CFPB's fiercest advocates in Congress, defending the agency's structure against Republican criticisms and pushing hard for Director Richard Cordray's confirmation. "The agency is worth fighting for ," she said the day after Cordray was finally confirmed in July.
(Image: Bloomberg News)
