Sherrod Brown Leads Senate Banking Committee's Consideration Of Key Nominees

4 months ago

The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing to consider pending nominations.

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Transcript

00:00:00Good morning, everyone.

00:00:01The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs

00:00:04will come to order.

00:00:06The committee meets today to consider four nominees,

00:00:10all long-time public servants,

00:00:12all overwhelmingly supported by both parties in this body.

00:00:17The Honorable Christy Goldsmith-Romero

00:00:19to be member and chairperson

00:00:20of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, welcome.

00:00:24The Honorable Carolyn Crenshaw,

00:00:26nominated to be a member

00:00:27of the Securities and Exchange Commission, welcome.

00:00:30The Honorable Kristen Johnson

00:00:31to be assistant secretary of financial institutions

00:00:33at the Department of Treasury, welcome.

00:00:35And Mr. Gordon Ito to be a member

00:00:37of the Financial Stability Oversight Council

00:00:39to serve as the independent member

00:00:41with insurance expertise on FSOC, Mr. Ito, welcome.

00:00:45We thank the nominees for appearing today.

00:00:47I will make brief statements about each.

00:00:50I will swear each of you in,

00:00:52and I believe that Senator Warner has a statement,

00:00:55a brief statement.

00:00:57He wants to make about one of the nominees.

00:00:59Three nominees have already been confirmed unanimously.

00:01:03Ms. Goldsmith-Romero, Ms. Crenshaw, Ms. Johnson,

00:01:07all have been confirmed unanimously by the Senate.

00:01:10I'm hopeful we get the same kind of bipartisan cooperation

00:01:13that we see in this committee oftentimes again.

00:01:17Ms. Goldsmith-Romero has been confirmed

00:01:19by every member of the Senate multiple times.

00:01:22In a Washington far too divided, far too often,

00:01:25Republicans and Democrats on this committee

00:01:27and the Senate, and I appreciate Ranking Member Scott's

00:01:30bipartisanship on these kinds of matters,

00:01:33have agreed that these nominees possess the experience

00:01:35and the character to serve the public.

00:01:37The nominees have received strong statements today

00:01:41of support and support letters from a broad swath

00:01:44of the financial sector, services sector,

00:01:47including consumer groups, former regulators,

00:01:49state insurance commissioners, on and on and on and on.

00:01:52These nominees bring with them years of experience

00:01:55and a strong dedication to public service.

00:01:57If confirmed, each will play an important role

00:02:00in the success and stability of our financial system.

00:02:04The president nominated Christine Goldsmith-Romero

00:02:07to be a member and chairperson of the FDIC.

00:02:09As chair, she'll lead an agency responsible

00:02:11for protecting the bank accounts of millions of Americans

00:02:14across the country.

00:02:15Ms. Goldsmith-Romero is a highly qualified nominee,

00:02:19more than two decades of financial services experience.

00:02:23She served as a commissioner

00:02:24in the Commodities Future Trading Commission since 2022,

00:02:28after she was, again, underscore,

00:02:30unanimously confirmed by the Senate.

00:02:33At the CFTC, she's worked to ensure market integrity

00:02:36and protect commodity end users and consumers.

00:02:39Prior to joining CFTC, spent six years at the SEC,

00:02:43where she served as consul to SEC Chairs Shapiro,

00:02:47a Democrat, and Cox, a Republican,

00:02:50during administrations of both parties.

00:02:53She served as Special Inspector General for TARP,

00:02:57the Trouble Asset Relief Program.

00:02:58She took on that post in 2009,

00:03:02amid the worst financial crisis since the Depression,

00:03:05where she did vital work protecting taxpayers.

00:03:08She served in several roles

00:03:09in the Inspector General's Office at TARP,

00:03:12before being unanimously confirmed by the Senate

00:03:14to serve as the Special Inspector General.

00:03:17She managed a large staff of examiners and accountants

00:03:20and other investigative professionals.

00:03:22As the Inspector General,

00:03:23she followed the facts where they led.

00:03:25She wore her independence proudly.

00:03:28She helped the office meet its mission,

00:03:29in the process, recover literally billions of dollars

00:03:32for American taxpayers.

00:03:34During her decade as IG, she looked under the hood

00:03:37of many financially distressed banks and institutions.

00:03:40She knows how to spot signs of trouble.

00:03:42She knows what to look for

00:03:44when it comes to financial stability or instability

00:03:48or potential contagion.

00:03:50She understands regulation,

00:03:51the important role regulators play in ensuring the safety

00:03:55and soundness of financial institutions.

00:03:56She's proved that she will hold accountable

00:03:59those who engage in fraud and misconduct.

00:04:03Ms. Goldsmith-Romero's nomination comes at a pivotal time.

00:04:07Everyone here today agrees the FDIC

00:04:10needs drastic cultural change.

00:04:13Longstanding issues of harassment and misconduct

00:04:16have plagued the agency for over a decade

00:04:18under multiple chairs, chairs of both parties.

00:04:23The women and men of the FDIC deserve a workplace

00:04:25free of harassment and misconduct.

00:04:27That's why I called weeks ago on the president

00:04:29to nominate a new, highly qualified chair.

00:04:32And Ms. Goldsmith-Romero is that.

00:04:34Tough, fair, accomplished regulator, manager,

00:04:37track record in making sure bad behavior doesn't go unchecked.

00:04:41Listen to people who've worked with her,

00:04:42the people have seen her character up close.

00:04:44Christopher Cox, former Republican SEC chair,

00:04:48wrote the committee and said this.

00:04:50She is a consummate professional.

00:04:52Her skill and objectivity are the reason

00:04:54she's worked successfully across multiple administrations

00:04:57of different parties.

00:04:58That high level of professionalism is reflected

00:05:02in the fact that she has twice been unanimously confirmed

00:05:05to her important financial regulatory positions.

00:05:07I believe that Senator Scott,

00:05:11and I believe as a house member,

00:05:12served with Congressman Cox as I did, perhaps not,

00:05:15but I know they have been acquaintances

00:05:18and friends over the years.

00:05:19Not to speak for the ranking member, of course.

00:05:23Committee also received a letter of support

00:05:24from a group of bipartisan women

00:05:26who have spent decades working in financial services

00:05:29as congressional staff, federal agency staff,

00:05:31and industry representatives.

00:05:33Leadership starts at the top.

00:05:34She's the right choice to lead the agency

00:05:36as it charts a much needed transformation of its culture.

00:05:41Congratulations on your nomination.

00:05:42President's re-nominated Caroline Crenshaw

00:05:45to be to a full term

00:05:46on the Securities and Exchange Commission.

00:05:48She has joined the SEC board in 2020

00:05:51after being nominated by President Trump,

00:05:54and who was a Republican,

00:05:56and unanimously confirmed by the Senate.

00:05:58In her four years as a commissioner,

00:06:00or he is the Republican, I'm sorry.

00:06:02He's still Republican.

00:06:03Okay, he's, okay.

00:06:07As we all follow.

00:06:09In her four years as commissioner,

00:06:10Ms. Crenshaw has been a fierce advocate

00:06:12for protecting Americans' money,

00:06:14has routinely fought to make our markets

00:06:16more fair and more transparent.

00:06:17Prior to her confirmation at the SEC,

00:06:20she served as a career staff attorney at SEC,

00:06:23as well as counsel to two commissioners.

00:06:25Prior to joining, Ms. Crenshaw worked

00:06:27in private law practice in Washington.

00:06:29In addition to her exemplary service to our country,

00:06:32Ms. Crenshaw is also an army reserve captain

00:06:34and the judge advocate, generals core.

00:06:37Welcome back, Ms. Crenshaw.

00:06:39Thank you for your service.

00:06:40Nice to see you.

00:06:41President's nominated Kristen Johnson

00:06:42to serve as assistant secretary for financial institutions

00:06:45at the Department of the Treasury.

00:06:46The office Ms. Johnson would lead

00:06:48of confirmed handles abroad portfolio,

00:06:50including financial institution policy,

00:06:53insurance, cybersecurity, community economic development.

00:06:56She brings with her a wealth of experience

00:06:58in the public and private sectors,

00:07:00as well as experience of academia,

00:07:03giving her a well-rounded understanding

00:07:04of financial institutions policy and regulation.

00:07:09She's currently served as a commissioner in the SCFTC

00:07:12after being unanimously confirmed by the Senate in 2022.

00:07:17CFTC, she serves a reliable voice for market participants

00:07:22and has fought for sound

00:07:23and competitive and efficient markets.

00:07:26Prior to joining CFTC, Ms. Johnson served as a professor

00:07:29of law for more than a decade,

00:07:31teaching at Emory and Tulane and Seton Hall University.

00:07:35She taught courses in banking law,

00:07:36financial institutions, securities, derivatives markets,

00:07:38financial institutions, and systemic risk law and policy.

00:07:42Earlier in her career,

00:07:43she worked for large financial institutions

00:07:44and in private law practice in New York City.

00:07:48Good to see you, Ms. Johnson.

00:07:49Thank you.

00:07:50Final nominee in today's panel

00:07:53is the only one that's not a woman.

00:07:55The president's nominated Mr. Ito

00:07:57to serve as the independent insurance expert on FSOC.

00:08:01If confirmed, he'd be one of 10 voting members in FSOC.

00:08:05Responsibility for monitoring

00:08:07and identifying financial instability risks,

00:08:10Mr. Ito's decades of insurance experience

00:08:13have prepared him to serve as a member of FSOC.

00:08:16Like the other nominees today, Mr. Ito is well-qualified.

00:08:20He currently serves as the insurance commissioner

00:08:22for the state of Hawaii.

00:08:24He first joined the Hawaii Division of Insurance

00:08:26some 30 years ago

00:08:28and has served in multiple roles within the office.

00:08:31As the insurance commissioner in the state,

00:08:34he's been a strong proponent

00:08:35for a fair and competitive insurance marketplace

00:08:38and for consumer protection.

00:08:39He's played an important role

00:08:41in helping Hawaii recover from the devastating wildfires,

00:08:45which result in the deaths of more than 100 residents

00:08:47and billions of dollars in damages.

00:08:49In addition to serving in Hawaii's insurance division,

00:08:53Mr. Ito's held several leadership roles

00:08:55with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners,

00:08:57including secretary treasurer.

00:08:59Early in his career,

00:09:00he worked in private law practice in Hawaii.

00:09:02You're welcome, Mr. Ito.

00:09:04Thanks again to the nominees.

00:09:06Ranking member, Scott.

00:09:09Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

00:09:10Thank you to the noms for being here with us this morning.

00:09:14While I appreciate the Senate's important role

00:09:15in the nomination process,

00:09:17unfortunately, what brings us here today

00:09:19is a classic case of stubbornness.

00:09:22This administration wants to safeguard

00:09:24its progressive agenda, no matter the cost.

00:09:27Not the employees of the FDIC

00:09:29and not the people they are supposed to serve.

00:09:31Chairman Bloomberg has been at the helm

00:09:34of the FDIC for nearly two decades.

00:09:36And under his leadership tenure,

00:09:38he's allowed rampant harassment, discrimination,

00:09:42vile behavior to continue to flourish.

00:09:46That's why I've said it several times before this committee,

00:09:50Mr. Grunberg should resign immediately,

00:09:53not wait for someone to replace him,

00:09:56but start the culture of healing at the FDIC.

00:10:01Without that action, it is frustrating

00:10:05to the American people,

00:10:06frustrating to the employees at the FDIC

00:10:09that Mr. Grunberg refuses to do the right thing

00:10:12in spite a bipartisan coalition asking him to do so.

00:10:18Mr. Grunberg and his allies in the White House

00:10:20have decided to play politics instead.

00:10:23Chair Grunberg is refusing to step down

00:10:25until a Biden nominee is confirmed, no matter the timeline.

00:10:29That's like having a leak in your roof.

00:10:31Instead of fixing it, you just put a bucket underneath

00:10:34and wait and wait and wait.

00:10:38Common sense reminds me,

00:10:40the first step for restoration is stopping the leak

00:10:43and cutting out the damage so that repairs can begin.

00:10:49And it's clear, President Biden is not interested

00:10:51in cutting out the damage

00:10:53and not interested in accountability.

00:10:56Instead, the White House has taken this opportunity

00:10:59to try and make lemonade out of lemons

00:11:01by putting forward three additional nominees

00:11:03selected for the purpose

00:11:05of advancing his progressive regulatory agenda.

00:11:09And while I firmly believe

00:11:11we are here under false sense of urgency,

00:11:14we will do our very best to evaluate the nominees

00:11:16before us today on their merit

00:11:19and fulfill our constitutional responsibility.

00:11:23So let's start with Commissioner Bill Smith-Romero.

00:11:26Commissioner, I enjoyed you taking the time

00:11:29to be here and meeting with me a few days ago

00:11:30and having a serious conversation

00:11:32about what it takes to change the culture of the FDIC

00:11:37and deal with some of the really important challenges

00:11:40coming our way.

00:11:42While you've had a long career in public service,

00:11:45your background lacks the banking regulatory experience

00:11:48necessary to carry out the critical responsibilities

00:11:51of the FDIC and fulfill the requirements of the FDI Act.

00:11:55The foremost mission of the FDIC

00:11:57is to maintain stability and confidence

00:11:59in our financial stability in the system,

00:12:02an important task that was front and center

00:12:06just last year as we watched SVB fail.

00:12:09The FDIC must ensure deposits, examine,

00:12:12and supervise financial institutions

00:12:13for safety and soundness and consumer protections

00:12:16while standing ready to manage receivership

00:12:19of failed institutions.

00:12:20This is no small task.

00:12:23You have little experience with bank supervision

00:12:25or prudential law policymaking,

00:12:26let alone managing the world's largest deposit insurer.

00:12:30The next year needs to be prepared to lead

00:12:33because not only are we going to have to confront

00:12:36the magnitude of Bowser III endgame,

00:12:39but as I said a few times already,

00:12:41correcting the culture at the FDIC is so important

00:12:45and it makes it challenging to have on the job training

00:12:48from my perspective.

00:12:50Turning to the management challenges at the FDIC,

00:12:52as we've discussed,

00:12:53I'm concerned with your ability

00:12:55to lead in much needed cultural change.

00:12:58We talked in my office about the number of whistleblowers

00:13:01who've come forward and talked about

00:13:03your management approach as well.

00:13:05And I look forward to having an opportunity

00:13:08for you to share your responses

00:13:11during the question and answer part of this meeting today.

00:13:15Our next nominee, Ms. Carolyn Crenshaw,

00:13:18has been re-nominated for an additional five-year term

00:13:21ending in June of 2029 to serve as a member of the SEC.

00:13:25Commissioner Crenshaw, while I respect your deep knowledge

00:13:28of the capital markets, I have significant reservations

00:13:31over your nomination based on your views

00:13:33of what appears to be the limpless authority of the SEC.

00:13:36Take for example, the SEC's Climate Disclosure Rule,

00:13:40which the SEC has received nearly 24,000 letters

00:13:43on since its proposal.

00:13:45Despite widespread concern from the public,

00:13:47including from myself as well as both Democrats

00:13:49and Republicans on this committee,

00:13:51you expressed frustration that the SEC didn't go far enough

00:13:55in its final rule.

00:13:57Furthermore, you've urged the SEC to contort its authority

00:14:00over the private markets, praising the finalization

00:14:03of the Private Fund Advisory Rule as an important step

00:14:06in the name of investor protection, competition,

00:14:09and market integrity.

00:14:10We know that the Fifth Circuit disagrees,

00:14:13ruling that the SEC went beyond the powers granted to it

00:14:16by Congress and the Investment Advisor Act.

00:14:20Our capital markets should not be a testing ground

00:14:22for the expansion of the administrative state

00:14:24and your past actions give me serious pause

00:14:27for considering your nomination.

00:14:29I'll close with this.

00:14:31I find it incredibly frustrating

00:14:33that we find ourselves here today,

00:14:35as this is a prime example of the Biden administration's MO

00:14:39of politics over people.

00:14:41While I look forward to hearing from the nominees,

00:14:43I must reiterate that real meaningful change

00:14:46could be brought to the employees of the FDIC today

00:14:50if Marty Goodenberg would simply step down.

00:14:55Will the four nominees please rise?

00:14:59Raise your right hand.

00:15:02Do you swear or affirm that the testimony

00:15:04that you're about to give is the truth,

00:15:05all truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

00:15:09Do you agree to appear and testify

00:15:11before any duly constituted committee of the Senate?

00:15:15Please be seated.

00:15:16Senator Warner of Virginia would like

00:15:18to introduce Ms. Goldsmith-Romero.

00:15:20I would, Mr. Chairman.

00:15:21I thank you for that and I thank you for your comments

00:15:24about all the nominees.

00:15:26I think they are all uniquely qualified

00:15:30and hope we will follow the tradition of this committee

00:15:32and that we will weigh these individuals on their merits.

00:15:36But I'm particularly here to introduce

00:15:39Christy Goldsmith-Romero,

00:15:41who is nominated to be the next chair of the FDIC

00:15:43and currently serves as a commissioner

00:15:45on the Commodities Future Trading Commission.

00:15:48I'm proud to say that Christy

00:15:49is a Virginian through and through.

00:15:51She grew up in Virginia Beach,

00:15:53where her family continues to live

00:15:55and her sister runs a small business.

00:15:57She attended Virginia Beach schools,

00:15:59is a graduate of Old Dominion.

00:16:01She's lived in Arlington for more than 20 years

00:16:04with her wife, Adrienne, who I had a chance to meet,

00:16:06and their three daughters, Kelsey, Brooke, and Julia,

00:16:09all, again, who attended Arlington Public Schools.

00:16:12She's also a grandmother of two beautiful grandchildren

00:16:14who also live in Northern Virginia.

00:16:17Christy's father, Augusto Rami Romero,

00:16:19came to America from the Philippines as a young man.

00:16:22He became a US citizen, served in the US Navy for 20 years,

00:16:26and was stationed in Norfolk.

00:16:27Her brother, Scott, served in the military

00:16:30with deployments to Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq,

00:16:32and her brother-in-law is currently a retired SEAL.

00:16:37Continuing her family's deep dedication

00:16:39to serving our nation for the last two decades,

00:16:41the commissioner has dedicated much of her career

00:16:44to protecting consumers and investors

00:16:47as a financial regulator with leadership roles at the SEC,

00:16:52the Treasury Department,

00:16:54and her current position as commissioner at the CFTC.

00:16:57In these positions, she has focused on results,

00:16:59reform, and accountability,

00:17:01all things that are gonna be needed at the FDIC,

00:17:04and I believe will bring a broad range

00:17:07of relevant experiences to this new role.

00:17:12For example, she served for more than a decade

00:17:14as a special inspector general

00:17:16for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, SIGTAR,

00:17:19and we all remember the challenges that were faced there.

00:17:23In this role, her office was charged

00:17:25with acting as a watchdog over federal resources

00:17:28that were authorized by Congress

00:17:29to stabilize our financial system and support homeovers

00:17:33during that challenging, challenging time.

00:17:35During her tenure as special inspector general,

00:17:38her office recovered $11 billion for taxpayers

00:17:43and was responsible for convictions

00:17:45for more than 400 individuals who committed fraud,

00:17:48money laundering, and other crimes.

00:17:51That sounds like the kind of experience we need at the FDIC.

00:17:57In addition to her history of results there at SIGTAR,

00:18:01she has worked and spent her career working again,

00:18:03as the chairman said, on a bipartisan basis,

00:18:06serving as counsel for two SEC chairs

00:18:09during the financial crisis,

00:18:11including, as the chairman pointed out,

00:18:12President Bush's SEC chair, Chris Cox,

00:18:15who was very, very active during that time.

00:18:18And again, to remind folks,

00:18:21she has been unanimously, unanimously,

00:18:23that means all 100 of us,

00:18:26confirmed by the Senate twice.

00:18:28Now, there are a number of letters and recommendations

00:18:31that Christy has received.

00:18:31I would point out one from Shira Bear,

00:18:34who many of us, again, on this committee,

00:18:36in a bipartisan way have worked with over the years

00:18:39from the crisis and afterwards,

00:18:40who again, if anyone would know

00:18:44what were the needed skills to be chair of the FDIC,

00:18:47I'd count Shira Bear pretty high in that list

00:18:50since she served as President Bush's head of the FDIC

00:18:55from 2006 to 2011.

00:18:58In her current role at the CFTC,

00:18:59she sponsors the Commission's Technology Advisory Committee,

00:19:03where she is engaged with industry and other stakeholders

00:19:05on challenges and risk and AI, blockchain,

00:19:09and digital assets.

00:19:10And again, in our conversations,

00:19:12I think going at the FDIC from that regulatory position,

00:19:15having a knowledge, a technology-based knowledge

00:19:18about how AI is gonna change our systems

00:19:20and our banking regulations, blockchain,

00:19:23and the whole realm of digital assets,

00:19:25this is exactly the kind of experience we need

00:19:29at this troubled agency at this point.

00:19:31Christy's dedication to public service,

00:19:33the breadth of her bipartisan work experience,

00:19:35and her many accolades

00:19:36for improving financial accountability in the sector

00:19:40make her well-qualified to take the lead at the FDIC

00:19:45at the crucial time in its history.

00:19:46And I have complete doubt

00:19:47that she can make the kind of cultural change,

00:19:50and we spend a lot of time talking about this,

00:19:52in this role, I hope, when she's confirmed.

00:19:55So I look forward to her testimony.

00:19:57Mr. Chairman, I've got to step out for a minute,

00:19:58but I'll be back in time for my question.

00:20:00Thank you so much.

00:20:01Thank you, Mark.

00:20:03Thank you to all four of you.

00:20:04Please proceed, beginning with Ms. Goldsmith-Romero.

00:20:08Welcome.

00:20:10And feel free, all of you, to introduce family members

00:20:12at the beginning of your testimony.

00:20:14Certainly, I know people like to do that for good reason.

00:20:16Thank you.

00:20:18Chairman Brown, Ranking Member Scott,

00:20:19and members of the committee,

00:20:20thank you for this opportunity and for your consideration.

00:20:24I'm honored to be nominated by President Biden

00:20:26to serve as the chair of the FDIC.

00:20:28Thank you, Senator Warner,

00:20:30for your gracious words and support.

00:20:32I do want to introduce my wife, Adrienne,

00:20:34and my daughters, Kelsey, Brooke, and Julia.

00:20:36I'm incredibly grateful for their love and support.

00:20:39I also want to thank my parents and my in-laws,

00:20:42my son-in-law, my grandsons and siblings,

00:20:44for their love and support.

00:20:45Yes, I said grandsons.

00:20:47I am a very happy grandmother.

00:20:51I grew up in a military family

00:20:52where my parents raised me to be respectful and kind.

00:20:55My mom was a homemaker and later a school teacher,

00:20:58and my dad came from the Philippines

00:20:59and became a U.S. citizen after joining the U.S. Navy,

00:21:03where he served for 20 years.

00:21:05So he inspired my own service 22 years

00:21:08under four presidents at the SEC, Treasury, and the CFTC.

00:21:13This nomination and your consideration

00:21:15are a testament to the American dream

00:21:17that my parents worked to achieve.

00:21:20I have dedicated my career

00:21:21to the stability of our nation's financial system

00:21:24so that it can serve families and businesses

00:21:26in search of their American dream.

00:21:28At the SEC, I protected investors and markets,

00:21:31and I was counsel to SEC Chairs Chris Cox and Mary Shapiro

00:21:35during the financial crisis.

00:21:36After witnessing how a crisis on Wall Street

00:21:39can take a toll on Main Street,

00:21:40I wanted to be part of the solution.

00:21:42So I helped build an independent office at Treasury

00:21:45called the Office of Special Inspector General

00:21:47for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or SIGTARP.

00:21:50Congress created TARP to provide $442 billion

00:21:55for more than 700 banks, housing,

00:21:57autos, insurance, and derivatives.

00:22:00Secretary Paulson said TARP was necessary

00:22:02to restore confidence in the banking system,

00:22:04and that is how SIGTARP viewed our mission.

00:22:06I was privileged to lead SIGTARP for 11 years

00:22:09where everyone pulled together

00:22:10to accomplish this massive mission.

00:22:12And SIGTARP was successful.

00:22:14We brought transparency and oversight

00:22:16through reporting and recommendations.

00:22:18We protected TARP funds, recovering more than $11 billion,

00:22:21which was 27 times our cost.

00:22:24SIGTARP was known for its ability

00:22:25to uncover hidden fraud in banks.

00:22:27And I credit that to a proactive analytics-based system

00:22:30that we developed working

00:22:32within the bank supervisory privilege.

00:22:34We brought accountability through civil actions

00:22:36against large financial institutions

00:22:38and criminal convictions of more than 400 individuals,

00:22:41including 95 bankers and more than 90 bank borrowers,

00:22:45often related to failed banks.

00:22:47Court sentenced 75 bankers to prison.

00:22:50I also gained a great appreciation for community banks

00:22:53because 625 banks in TARP

00:22:55were less than $100 million in size.

00:22:58And as I told Congress in 2011,

00:23:00small and medium-sized banks play an important role

00:23:02in our nation's economy and are the lifeblood

00:23:04of many communities across the country.

00:23:06They provide credit to small businesses and farms

00:23:09and serve customers in rural areas

00:23:11and small metropolitan areas not served by big banks.

00:23:14So my experience at the SEC, SIGTARP,

00:23:16and at the CFTC regulating derivatives

00:23:19will be invaluable if confirmed.

00:23:21Derivatives are an important tool

00:23:22to manage risk, particularly for the agricultural sector.

00:23:25At the same time, derivatives substantially contributed

00:23:28to the 2008 crisis,

00:23:30and the FDIC recently found shortcomings

00:23:32in the living wills of four large banks

00:23:34related to derivatives.

00:23:36So there's more to do.

00:23:37If confirmed, I will keep top of mind

00:23:39the significance of leading an agency

00:23:41tied to the financial well-being of every American

00:23:44and would prioritize maintaining stability

00:23:46and confidence in the financial system.

00:23:48As employees need to be supported

00:23:50in the FDIC's critical mission,

00:23:51I would prioritize a complete overhaul

00:23:53of the FDIC's workplace culture.

00:23:55The reporting is deeply disturbing

00:23:57and describes deep-seated cultural issues

00:23:59that have caused pain for many employees.

00:24:01It must not continue, and I will bring accountability.

00:24:05I would also ensure that banks of all sizes

00:24:07can provide depository services and loans

00:24:10to businesses and households,

00:24:12which is necessary for the U.S. economy.

00:24:14I would ensure that banks

00:24:15appropriately manage emerging risk

00:24:17and that the government keeps pace

00:24:19as banking has modernized.

00:24:22If confirmed, I look forward

00:24:23to working with Congress on these issues.

00:24:26To be entrusted with leading the FDIC in this mission

00:24:29and at this moment would be a great honor.

00:24:32Thank you.

00:24:34Thank you, Ms. Goldsmith-Romer.

00:24:36Ms. Grenshaw, you're welcome to be here for five minutes.

00:24:40Thanks.

00:24:40Your statement.

00:24:43Chairman Brown, Ranking Member Scott

00:24:45and distinguished members of the committee,

00:24:47thank you for the opportunity to appear before you.

00:24:51I'm delighted to be considered for reappointment

00:24:53to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

00:24:56Last month, with the 90th anniversary

00:24:59of the passage of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,

00:25:03which was established with the SEC

00:25:05during the Great Depression.

00:25:07Over the years, the SEC and its staff

00:25:09have worked on behalf of generations of Americans

00:25:13to help ensure that the securities markets

00:25:15are fundamentally fair and safe

00:25:18for the purpose of protecting our hard-earned dollars.

00:25:20This capital in turn has financed all manner of businesses

00:25:24and allowed our economy to thrive.

00:25:28I have had the privilege to contribute

00:25:30to the SEC's work for over a decade.

00:25:32I began my career at the SEC as a staff attorney

00:25:35in the Division of Exams,

00:25:37helping to oversee institutions

00:25:39that manage millions of American savings.

00:25:43I also served in the Division of Investment Management

00:25:45and as counsel to Commissioners Cara Stein

00:25:48and Robert Jackson,

00:25:50focusing on how to strengthen investor protections

00:25:53in our increasingly complex markets.

00:25:56Most recently, I have served as a member of the Commission.

00:25:59Using the expertise I developed as a member of the staff,

00:26:03of the securities laws, of the markets we regulate,

00:26:06and of the inner workings of the institution itself

00:26:09to bring independent thought and analysis

00:26:12to the service of our mission.

00:26:16In addition to my SEC work,

00:26:17I also serve in the United States Army Reserve

00:26:20Judge Advocate General's Corps.

00:26:22My SEC and Army lives sometimes intersect

00:26:26in good ways and in bad.

00:26:28I've been committed to bringing a message

00:26:30of financial readiness to American service members.

00:26:34Speaking with service members, cadets, midshipmen

00:26:38about the securities markets and financial literacy

00:26:41has been a highlight for me.

00:26:44Unfortunately, I'm also aware of the fraudsters

00:26:46who prey on everyday Americans,

00:26:49including service members and their families.

00:26:52In one particularly troubling SEC enforcement action,

00:26:55it's alleged that an Army financial counselor

00:26:57defrauded the families of fallen soldiers.

00:27:01If confirmed, I intend to continue to educate

00:27:04and advocate for strengthening protections

00:27:06for American service members.

00:27:09I would also work tirelessly

00:27:11in support of the SEC's mission,

00:27:13protecting investors, maintaining fair, orderly,

00:27:15and efficient markets, and facilitating capital formation.

00:27:19To me, this means promoting trust in the securities markets

00:27:23by reducing opportunities for bad actors

00:27:25to engage in fraud and manipulation.

00:27:28It means ensuring that investors have access

00:27:31to appropriate and truthful disclosures

00:27:33that help them make informed investment decisions.

00:27:37It means ensuring that the investment professionals

00:27:39fulfill their obligations to customers

00:27:42and elevate their interests above their own.

00:27:46And it means balancing the interests

00:27:47of those who participate in our markets

00:27:49to help ensure smaller players have the chance to compete.

00:27:54I believe that this framework benefits investors

00:27:56and those seeking to raise capital alike,

00:27:59and it's a pillar of our economy.

00:28:02Thank you to my husband, Alex Cole,

00:28:04who's here today, and my family.

00:28:06They are with me for their unwavering support.

00:28:09The littlest ones are at camp and at home.

00:28:12We figured we didn't want them disrupting

00:28:14the proceedings today.

00:28:16And thank you also to my fellow commissioners.

00:28:19Our discourse, although at times differing,

00:28:22leads to more thoughtful outcomes

00:28:24on behalf of the American public.

00:28:27And of course, thank you to the SEC staff.

00:28:30The talent, ingenuity, and commitment

00:28:32of the public service at the agency cannot be overstated.

00:28:36It's been a privilege and an honor to work alongside them

00:28:39in support of the SEC's mission.

00:28:42I feel truly honored to be here today.

00:28:44Thank you for your time and consideration,

00:28:46and I look forward to answering your questions.

00:28:48Thank you, Ms. Crenshaw.

00:28:49Ms. Johnson, you're recognized for five minutes.

00:28:51Thank you for joining us.

00:28:52Thank you.

00:28:54Good morning, Chairman Brown, Ranking Member Scott,

00:28:56and other distinguished members of the committee.

00:28:59It is a privilege to appear before you today.

00:29:03I'm joined by my parents and my son, Jackson,

00:29:06and good friends from law school and law teaching.

00:29:09I'm honored to have been nominated by President Biden

00:29:11to serve as Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions

00:29:15at the Department of Treasury.

00:29:17If I'm confirmed, I hope to draw upon my experience gained

00:29:22as an academic, a lawyer, in-house counsel

00:29:25in one of the largest treasury services divisions

00:29:28at one of the largest financial institutions in the world

00:29:31to ensure the strength and stability of our economy

00:29:35and to ensure the integrity of financial markets.

00:29:39I'm also hopeful to work tirelessly to ensure access

00:29:43for American individuals and families

00:29:45to credit housing and financial services

00:29:49on fair and reasonable terms.

00:29:52As a commissioner at the CFTC,

00:29:54I've advocated for customer protection

00:29:56and encouraged the adoption of recovery

00:29:59and resilience reforms, cyber preparedness,

00:30:02risk governance, and the effective enforcement

00:30:06against both sophisticated and garden variety fraud.

00:30:10For nearly two decades, I've researched, published,

00:30:14and taught about financial market risk regulation

00:30:17and financial market risk and regulation.

00:30:20As an Associate Dean

00:30:21at Emory and Tulane University Law Schools,

00:30:24I've held endowed professorships,

00:30:26received research awards and fellowships,

00:30:28and had the great pleasure of teaching many students.

00:30:32My research aims to identify, assess, and address

00:30:37exogenous, endogenous, and emerging risks

00:30:41in financial markets.

00:30:43During the global financial crisis of 2007 to 2009

00:30:47and the ensuing Great Recession,

00:30:48a period characterized by falling GDP,

00:30:51double-digit unemployment,

00:30:53and dissipating retirement account and home values,

00:30:56I proposed reforms for the deeply interconnected,

00:30:59opaque, bespoke, bilateral credit derivatives markets.

00:31:03My recommended reforms aim to enhance transparency,

00:31:07reduce counterparty credit risk, as well as liquidity risk,

00:31:10and to facilitate price discovery,

00:31:13each important to the stability of the financial system

00:31:16and to end users, such as farmers, ranchers, and growers

00:31:20who rely on derivatives markets for price discovery.

00:31:23Today, transformational innovation

00:31:25with light-speed operational infrastructure

00:31:28promises to increase equity, access,

00:31:30transparency, and efficiency.

00:31:32In 2019 and again in 2021, I testified before Congress

00:31:36emphasizing the need for responsible innovation,

00:31:39the significance of financial technology firms,

00:31:43the rise of artificial intelligence,

00:31:45and the creation of blockchain technology.

00:31:47These innovations promise to address an issue

00:31:50at the heart of my work, financial inclusion.

00:31:54For far too many in our country,

00:31:56particularly families in fragile financial circumstances,

00:32:01it can be extraordinarily expensive to be poor.

00:32:05Throughout my career,

00:32:07I've emphasized financial inclusion, entrepreneurship,

00:32:10and access to credit for local businesses,

00:32:13values I learned growing up in the Midwest and South

00:32:16and as a student at Georgetown University

00:32:18and the University of Michigan Law School.

00:32:20My great-great-great-grandfather, Alexander Moss,

00:32:23was born in May of 1821.

00:32:25And as a young man, his parents relocated

00:32:27to a town on the Wabash River,

00:32:29about 80 miles north of Indianapolis.

00:32:31There, he founded a storefront business

00:32:34and became a celebrated businessman,

00:32:35offering loans to African-American families and businesses

00:32:38with limited access to traditional lines of credit.

00:32:41He campaigned for the building of a school and a church

00:32:44in the African-American community.

00:32:46My family has maintained a strong commitment

00:32:48to public service.

00:32:49Shortly after graduating high school,

00:32:51my uncle volunteered for active duty during the Vietnam War.

00:32:54Others have served as judges, legal aid lawyers,

00:32:57teachers, nurses, and healthcare professionals

00:33:00supporting indigent communities.

00:33:03I'm grateful to my parents who join me today.

00:33:09They reinforce these values

00:33:11and they've given me and my three sisters

00:33:13a sense of infinite possibility.

00:33:16I'm also joined by my son,

00:33:17a rising fifth grader at Georgetown Day School

00:33:20and an aspiring engineer

00:33:22or a professional soccer player, depending.

00:33:26Jackson, I'm grateful to you for your patience

00:33:29as I work to be in service of others

00:33:31and to teach you that we must measure our actions

00:33:35by what we do for those who are most in need.

00:33:37Thank you very much.

00:33:39I welcome your questions.

00:33:42Normally I don't interject like this,

00:33:44but I love the look on who I believe your mother's face

00:33:47as she looked at Jackson, your grandson,

00:33:49when you said that.

00:33:51Mr. Ito.

00:33:54Chairman Brown, Ranking Member Scott,

00:33:56and distinguished members of the committee,

00:33:58it is my honor and privilege

00:33:59to appear here before you today.

00:34:02I'm very honored and humbled

00:34:03to be President Biden's nominee for this position

00:34:06as the independent member with insurance expertise

00:34:09on the Financial Stability Oversight Council,

00:34:12also known as FSOC.

00:34:14I also want to thank you and your staff

00:34:16for the time you have spent with me during this process.

00:34:20First, I'd like to mention and thank my wife, Joy,

00:34:23who would have liked to be here with me today.

00:34:26Joy has always been very supportive

00:34:28and been a tremendous help through this entire process.

00:34:32However, due to a planned family vacation

00:34:35in which we committed to leave nine members,

00:34:38other members on, she was unable to attend today.

00:34:42Our family member departed on their flights yesterday

00:34:45and tomorrow will start on my journey

00:34:48to try to catch up with them.

00:34:51I was born and raised in the town of Hilo, Hawaii.

00:34:55The neighborhood I grew up was idyllic.

00:34:57We all knew our neighbors.

00:34:59More importantly,

00:35:00we all have one another neighbor, healthy neighbor.

00:35:04This upbringing instilled in me a value

00:35:07to try my best to contribute in whatever small way I can

00:35:11to help my community.

00:35:14After graduating with degrees in finance and law,

00:35:17I practiced law for nearly seven years.

00:35:20This then as life takes its unexpected twists and turns,

00:35:24hurricane Iniki struck and devastated the island of Kauai.

00:35:29This unfortunate set of circumstances led me

00:35:32to the Hawaii Insurance Division as a staff attorney.

00:35:37The value instilled in me to help others

00:35:39has kept me at the insurance division for over 30 years

00:35:43and then resulted in my interest in this position.

00:35:47Through my years at the insurance division,

00:35:50I have gained a unique set of experience and knowledge

00:35:54that I would bring to FSOC.

00:35:56To highlight a few,

00:35:57they include managing the impact of natural catastrophes

00:36:02and that have devastated communities,

00:36:05placing insurers under supervision,

00:36:07rehabilitation and liquidation,

00:36:10and helping with the development of IT systems

00:36:14for the state and at the National Association

00:36:16of Insurance Commissioner, also known as the NAIC.

00:36:19I also assisted in starting up

00:36:21residual market mechanisms in Hawaii

00:36:24when the availability of insurance during hard markets

00:36:28was limited or non-existent.

00:36:31I worked closely with fellow state

00:36:33and international regulators, insurers, agents,

00:36:37legislators, and consumer groups

00:36:39to ensure the insurance marketplace remains fair,

00:36:44viable, and responsive,

00:36:47and that companies are financially solvent

00:36:49and there to pay claims.

00:36:52I know the important role of state regulators,

00:36:55insurance regulators play,

00:36:56and the benefit of collaboration

00:36:58on important questions of financial regulation.

00:37:02The three-part statutory mission of FSOC

00:37:05is to identify risks to financial stability

00:37:08of the United States, promote market discipline,

00:37:11and respond to emerging threats

00:37:14to the stability of the US financial system.

00:37:18If confirmed, I will work every day

00:37:21to share my experience and insight

00:37:23with fellow FSOC members to help the organization

00:37:27achieve the mission Congress gave it.

00:37:30Thank you for the opportunity to appear here today.

00:37:33I look forward to answering any questions you may have.

00:37:37Thank you, Mr. Ito.

00:37:38I would express the opinion

00:37:40that Joy probably made the right choice

00:37:42and we will not keep you long so you can catch up.

00:37:45I'm glad to report that they made it safely

00:37:47to their destination.

00:37:48I'm not suggesting what my colleagues ask about,

00:37:52but you may not get the most questions on this panel,

00:37:54but nonetheless, you should stay here for the entire panel.

00:37:58But then again, I don't know where you're going

00:38:01on your vacation, so thank you all.

00:38:06I'll start with you, Ms. Goldsmith-Romero.

00:38:07FDIC suffered from significant

00:38:09longstanding workplace culture issues.

00:38:12It's been described as misogynistic,

00:38:14patriarchal, insular, outdated, good old boys club.

00:38:18Significant change is necessary

00:38:20because FDIC employees deserve a workplace

00:38:23free from discrimination and abuse and harassment.

00:38:26How do you go about addressing these longstanding issues

00:38:29that appear to be deeply ingrained

00:38:32through FDIC chairs of both parties for far too many years

00:38:36did seem to be ingrained in the agency's culture?

00:38:40Thank you for the question, Senator.

00:38:41I mean, when I read the report,

00:38:43it reads like a bygone era,

00:38:45particularly for women and minorities

00:38:48and members of the LGBTQ plus community.

00:38:51So I'll learn more if confirmed and I can get in there,

00:38:55but let me give you my top line thoughts.

00:38:58The first is to modernize the federal workplace,

00:39:02to one that has the best practices

00:39:04that you would expect to see in federal workplaces,

00:39:07that invests in staff morale and values

00:39:09and supports employees.

00:39:11The second is to herald the employees and managers

00:39:14that have been doing the right thing.

00:39:16Third, I'd send a clear message that harassment

00:39:18and discrimination and retaliation will not be tolerated.

00:39:22So that includes investigations

00:39:24and holding people accountable.

00:39:26And I can say that the conduct in the report

00:39:29would warrant multiple removals.

00:39:32Additionally, we need to put in place

00:39:34what is the normal standard federal EEO process

00:39:39for complaints, and then encourage people to use it

00:39:41rather than have them live in fear.

00:39:43I would change the litigation adverse culture

00:39:47so that problems could be addressed right away

00:39:50rather than moved around

00:39:51or kicked the can down the road.

00:39:54And then the error of each office being a fiefdom

00:39:58would be over.

00:39:59There would not be 70 plus FDICs.

00:40:01There'd be one FDIC with all employees in all offices

00:40:04following the same rules, the same way.

00:40:07Thank you.

00:40:10Discuss how your tenure as did SIGTARP

00:40:15informed your understanding of our banking system

00:40:19and prepared you to lead the FDIC

00:40:21into its next much better chapter.

00:40:25Yeah, thank you, Senator.

00:40:26SIGTARP was really deep into banks at the worst time

00:40:30in our nation's history.

00:40:31We were with inside the same confidential

00:40:35supervisory privilege that FDIC and other regulators hold.

00:40:38And so we were dealing with failed banks all the time

00:40:41and banks that were in trouble.

00:40:42So we are actively monitoring all of the 700 plus banks

00:40:46in TARP, making recommendations to treasury.

00:40:49A lot of those were community banks

00:40:51that were having trouble getting out of TARP.

00:40:53And we were following all of that

00:40:55and following their health and condition.

00:40:58In terms of our investigations,

00:41:00we prosecuted more than 100 bankers,

00:41:02more than 90 bank borrowers who hurt banks.

00:41:04And so we would go in into banks

00:41:08just like a bank examiner does.

00:41:09We would analyze all the bank's books and records,

00:41:12the examiner's records, we'd be talking to banks,

00:41:15employees and management, as well as the examiners.

00:41:18We'd be using our proactive data analytics based system

00:41:21to trend out call reports

00:41:23and be looking at camel's ratings

00:41:24and really trying to identify areas of risk,

00:41:28how banks were managing with risk

00:41:30and then whether they were following

00:41:32the regulatory rules or not.

00:41:35And then on the largest banks,

00:41:36I did a lot of work on systemic risk,

00:41:38capital, liquidity issues, things like that,

00:41:41and then served on a council of IGs

00:41:43with oversight over FSOC.

00:41:45Thank you.

00:41:47Listening to you, having talked to you before,

00:41:49and I know you talked to a number of senators

00:41:51of both parties and looking at your experience

00:41:54and background says to me, there is no question,

00:41:57there is no real reason to oppose you

00:41:59except for partisan reasons.

00:42:01And I hope the committee rises above that.

00:42:04Ms. Crenshaw, I'm running up against the clock.

00:42:08We'll have time for one question to her.

00:42:10Mr. Johnson, Ms. Johnson, Mr. Hito, I apologize for that.

00:42:13We will get you written questions.

00:42:15Ms. Crenshaw, Americans become more involved

00:42:17in financial market in recent years

00:42:19as workers become responsible for saving

00:42:21for their own retirements.

00:42:22That's a whole nother debate,

00:42:24but the system's often rigged for Wall Street

00:42:27and against everyone else.

00:42:28We know that most of inflation in this country

00:42:30is because of corporate greed.

00:42:32We see all kinds of signs of this as a system

00:42:36for Wall Street more than for workers.

00:42:38What steps does SEC need to take to make sure

00:42:43Americans have the tools and the information they need

00:42:45to feel confident they'll be treated fairly

00:42:47as they save for the future?

00:42:50Thank you.

00:42:51Yeah, the fact that Americans' retirement

00:42:52is in their own hands more than ever

00:42:54means that the SEC must promote trust in our markets.

00:42:58We do that by reducing bad actors,

00:43:01ensuring truthful and appropriate disclosures,

00:43:04and making sure that market participants

00:43:06play by the rules, all of them.

00:43:08This helps maintain confidence in the markets

00:43:10so investors know it's a safe place to put their money.

00:43:13Thank you.

00:43:14Senator?

00:43:14Thank you, Commissioner Goldsmith-Romero.

00:43:17Thank you once again for the conversation we had,

00:43:19and I told you then I was gonna ask you these questions

00:43:22so they're not a surprise to you

00:43:23if so ever give you an opportunity

00:43:24to deal with some of the challenges.

00:43:26Unlike the chairman who suggests the only reason

00:43:28to vote against someone on this committee

00:43:30is because of partisan reasons,

00:43:32that's just hogwash, to be blunt.

00:43:34The truth is that the whistleblower complaints,

00:43:36and I think the whistleblowers would actually disagree

00:43:38with the chairman's comments as well,

00:43:40whistleblower complaints suggest that the same challenges

00:43:43that we see at the FDIC under Grunberg,

00:43:45some of those same challenges exist

00:43:47with SIGTAR under your leadership.

00:43:49And so my question to you is,

00:43:50how would you respond to some of the challenges

00:43:52that we've talked about in my office?

00:43:54Thank you, Senator.

00:43:55I really do appreciate the time to address this.

00:43:58I absolutely disagree.

00:44:00There's nothing like what was in the Clery report

00:44:03at the FDIC.

00:44:05We had, and I was very glad to have this,

00:44:08a very independent and fair process

00:44:11that employees could go to,

00:44:12and they felt safe going to, and they did.

00:44:15And I'm glad they did because then as management,

00:44:17we could see what the issues were that we had to address.

00:44:20We never had any women complaining about sexual harassment.

00:44:25We never had these issues of retaliation.

00:44:29I was responsible.

00:44:30If there had been discrimination, harassment, retaliation,

00:44:33I would have taken this seriously

00:44:34and dealt with it right away.

00:44:36The findings were, and I have to respect the process,

00:44:39but also the outcome.

00:44:40In 11 years, there was only one finding against the agency.

00:44:45It was early on in my tenure,

00:44:47and I took it very seriously and addressed it.

00:44:49I'll also say that all IGs and their senior staff

00:44:53are held to a very, very high standard

00:44:56because we fall under the oversight of CIGI.

00:44:59And so CIGI has an integrity committee

00:45:01that will do reports and investigations on IGs,

00:45:04and they never had any findings.

00:45:06But even without having discrimination

00:45:09or retaliation or harassment,

00:45:11what I can tell you is that I still cared

00:45:13about employee morale

00:45:15and trying to have employees feel supported

00:45:19We just created this environment of high dignity

00:45:23and professionalism and respect

00:45:25so that employees could bring their best selves to work

00:45:29and work like a team.

00:45:29And the senior staff shared those same values.

00:45:32And I believe that's reflected in the great success

00:45:35that CIGTARP had.

00:45:36We were a very small agency compared to the mission

00:45:40that we had to take on.

00:45:42So everyone was pulling together

00:45:43and we were able to have that success

00:45:46and protect the financial system.

00:45:49So that's why I wanna go to the FDIC

00:45:51and do the same thing there.

00:45:53Can you confirm for me that you've had no complaints

00:45:56filed against you specifically

00:45:58for discrimination, harassment or retaliation?

00:46:01Senator, I think it would be very normal

00:46:04to name me in any kind of complaints.

00:46:07And I would welcome that

00:46:08because I'm ultimately the one responsible

00:46:11for changing things and fixing things right away.

00:46:15So the buck stops with me.

00:46:17And so I would be named,

00:46:19that would be very normal thing

00:46:20to name all the managers all the way up.

00:46:22But in my 11 years, we only had this one finding early on.

00:46:27I'm certainly familiar with the concept

00:46:28that there are three sides to every story,

00:46:30yours, mine and the truth.

00:46:31And so I certainly appreciate you answering that question.

00:46:34In my office, we also talked about the importance

00:46:36of trying to find a way for the employees,

00:46:38especially at the FDIC and beyond

00:46:40that have had challenges within the organization

00:46:43to be able to go forward with complaints

00:46:46but not go forward with complaints

00:46:47and the same with organization that actually manages.

00:46:51So under Chair Grubenberg, he has a recent proposal

00:46:55creating the FDIC's Office of Professional Conduct

00:46:58and Office of Equal Employment Opportunity.

00:47:01Of course, the challenge is that all those reports,

00:47:04complaints and concerns come straight back to the chair.

00:47:08How would you create a culture

00:47:09where the person who is handling the complaints

00:47:12isn't a part of the organization itself?

00:47:16Thank you, Senator.

00:47:17I really do appreciate that you and I had some time

00:47:19to talk about the importance

00:47:21of having an independent and fair process.

00:47:24So in the federal government, the EEOC sets that up.

00:47:27There's various agencies

00:47:29for different kinds of allegations,

00:47:32but the EEOC sets that up and works with the agencies

00:47:36to do that in a way where the investigations

00:47:41can be investigated

00:47:43so that there's no influence on the fact finder.

00:47:45These are the types of things

00:47:47that are important, that independence.

00:47:51Do you have state supervisory experience?

00:47:55So, Senator, I have worked a lot

00:47:57with the state banking regulators quite a bit.

00:48:00In fact, Pierce Bank in Washington,

00:48:05we were able to go in with the state banking regulators

00:48:09for years that we did, working hand-in-hand.

00:48:12We ultimately found why the bank failed,

00:48:16uncovered the cause of it,

00:48:17and then we brought significant convictions in that case.

00:48:22I believe 15 bankers who were convicted.

00:48:26We were working hand-in-hand

00:48:27with the state banking regulators.

00:48:28So you do believe that your nomination

00:48:30comports with the FDI Act?

00:48:36Are you talking about to have the banking supervisor?

00:48:39So I'm not, if the way it's written,

00:48:43I understand the issue there, I believe.

00:48:45If the way it's written is that someone

00:48:47who has to have worked in a state banking regulator,

00:48:51I have not done that.

00:48:53I've just worked with the state banking regulators.

00:48:56That was just one example.

00:48:57Okay, thank you.

00:48:58Thank you, Senator Scott.

00:48:59Senator Smith of Minnesota is recognized.

00:49:01Thank you, Chair Brown and Ranking Member,

00:49:03and welcome to all of you.

00:49:04Thank you very much for your willingness to serve.

00:49:07I'm very grateful for that.

00:49:10Ms. Crenshaw, I'm gonna start with you.

00:49:12I think one of the things that I see

00:49:15is that retail investing has just changed dramatically.

00:49:19It's really almost unrecognizable

00:49:20for what it was even 10 years ago.

00:49:22Smartphones, the capacity for people to trade

00:49:26is so easily accessible.

00:49:27Social media has become a way to draw people into new schemes

00:49:32and as a result, I think retail investors' appetite

00:49:36and access to new and more sophisticated financial products

00:49:41is growing and quite dramatic.

00:49:43So could you talk to us, please,

00:49:45about how you view the SEC's role

00:49:48in protecting retail investors and maintaining fair markets,

00:49:51particularly in the face of the evolving investment

00:49:56environment?

00:49:58Absolutely, thank you, Senator.

00:50:00First and foremost, I think education

00:50:01is fundamentally important.

00:50:04We need to educate investors on how to assess

00:50:07the pros and cons of various investments,

00:50:08of how to assess the risks and opportunities

00:50:11that different investments opportunities provide.

00:50:14So first and foremost, I would start with that.

00:50:16Second, we need to ensure that the intermediaries

00:50:19are abiding by their obligations,

00:50:21the investment advisors, the broker-dealers,

00:50:24and ensuring that they are abiding

00:50:28by their fiduciary obligations

00:50:31or the regulation best interest.

00:50:34And we need to ensure that we hold bad actors to account

00:50:38so that there is faith in the market.

00:50:40So really accountability and transparency,

00:50:43I think, are the fundamental ways

00:50:45that we need to ensure that those retail investors,

00:50:48which is good, we want to encourage retail investors,

00:50:50because again, retirement is in their hands more than ever,

00:50:54but we do need to ensure that it's a safe place for them

00:50:56so that they have more returns when they get their money out

00:50:59than they did when they started.

00:51:00Thank you very much.

00:51:01I think just as a follow-up,

00:51:02I think that oftentimes there is some confusion

00:51:07about whether these new investment tools or products

00:51:10still have to abide by the same consumer protection rules

00:51:15that we have in place.

00:51:16Could you just address that?

00:51:17Because I think that creates,

00:51:19and sometimes it seems to create nearly a loophole,

00:51:22and how would you approach that at the SEC?

00:51:25Absolutely.

00:51:26I think to the degree they are securities,

00:51:28they must abide by all of the securities laws

00:51:31and regulations.

00:51:33And I think it's as straightforward as that.

00:51:34And when they are not,

00:51:35we have enforcement tools to hold them to account.

00:51:38I think that's also where education comes into account,

00:51:42both for investors, but for the marketplace.

00:51:44For example, ETPs are very different from ETFs.

00:51:48And you hear a lot about ETFs.

00:51:50They're ubiquitous in retirement accounts.

00:51:53We've recently passed some ETPs.

00:51:55They are not ETFs.

00:51:56The protections around them are incredibly different.

00:51:58And both the marketplace and the investors

00:52:00need to understand what their obligations are.

00:52:02Great, thank you very much.

00:52:04Thank you very much.

00:52:06Commissioner Goldsmith-Romero,

00:52:07I really appreciated the conversation that we had

00:52:10and appreciated very much the professionalism

00:52:13and the deep bench of experience

00:52:16that you bring to this extremely important role.

00:52:19And I know that Chair Brown asked you

00:52:22about the ways in which your experience at TARP

00:52:26will shape your leadership at the FDIC

00:52:29and Chair Brown, I found that very, very helpful.

00:52:33So I'm gonna just briefly follow up

00:52:34on a bit of what ranking member was asking.

00:52:39As you tackle the need for culture change

00:52:42and accountability at FDIC,

00:52:44I for one think that somebody with a fresh perspective,

00:52:47somebody who is not part of that culture,

00:52:49but is coming in,

00:52:51can provide the kind of leadership that's needed.

00:52:55And so could you just address that for me?

00:52:57And could you talk a bit about how you see

00:53:02coming in as a new person in an agency

00:53:04that needs culture change,

00:53:05which is very difficult to do, let's be honest,

00:53:07how you see approaching that?

00:53:10Thank you, Senator, I appreciate the question.

00:53:13So I've been in the federal government for 22 years,

00:53:15so I know what is right and what is good.

00:53:18And what I'm reading here in this report is not that.

00:53:22It's not that at all.

00:53:22And I've had the great opportunity to work

00:53:25at three different agencies

00:53:26and lead a federal office for 11 years.

00:53:29So it's not everybody there.

00:53:32There's, I'm sure, a great number of people

00:53:34who are doing the right thing.

00:53:36And here the agency's reputation is tarnished.

00:53:39So I'm gonna go in and go back to reestablishing the FDIC

00:53:43as being a premier regulator.

00:53:45Like I said, herald the people

00:53:47who are doing the right thing,

00:53:49put in all the normal processes, procedures, best practices

00:53:52that I have enjoyed and led,

00:53:55and make sure that everyone feels safe

00:53:58and can be focused on mission.

00:53:59Thank you, I appreciate that answer.

00:54:01And I think, again, it demonstrates how your experience

00:54:03will allow you to be an effective leader

00:54:06in a very important agency.

00:54:07Thank you, Mr. Chair.

00:54:08Thanks, Senator Smith.

00:54:09Senator Rounds from South Dakota is recognized.

00:54:12Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

00:54:13First of all, to all of you and to your families,

00:54:15thank you for being here.

00:54:17To the families, this can be a pretty emotional time period

00:54:20for the folks that are up here in front

00:54:22because they don't have any idea at all

00:54:23what kind of questions they're really gonna get.

00:54:25They've had a chance to meet with most of us beforehand

00:54:27and they get an idea about what it is,

00:54:29but there's always that trepidation.

00:54:32And you all get to put up with them during that time period.

00:54:34So we thank you for that.

00:54:39Ms. Johnson and Mr. Ito, thank you for being here.

00:54:42I'm not gonna have any questions for either one of you too,

00:54:45so you can relax for just a minute here.

00:54:48Ms. Romero, appreciate the opportunity to visit with you.

00:54:53As you know, the federal banking agencies,

00:54:56including the FDIC, have proposed a comprehensive revision

00:55:00to their capital rules that would substantially

00:55:03increase capital requirements.

00:55:05This revision is known as the Basel III End Game,

00:55:08and we talk about it a lot within the banking institutions,

00:55:11but not a lot outside.

00:55:14We know that there will be material changes

00:55:16made to the entire proposal.

00:55:18Just Tuesday, Chair Powell says that he supports

00:55:21another comment period.

00:55:23If confirmed, would you support another comment period?

00:55:28Thank you, and I really appreciated

00:55:30when we met in your office and were able to talk through

00:55:32some of these deep, complex issues.

00:55:34I think a re-proposal is always on the table

00:55:37when you have a rule that's proposed

00:55:40and you get that many negative comments.

00:55:42And so, there is the Administrative Procedures Act

00:55:46and the Logical Outgrowth Doctrine

00:55:48that would have to be applied,

00:55:50but I'm not, I think it's on the table.

00:55:52I'm not looking to get something done fast,

00:55:54I'm looking to get something done right.

00:55:56Okay, look, in this particular case,

00:55:59you would be expected to make a decision rather quickly

00:56:03as to whether or not that's going to occur.

00:56:06Your nomination is up right now,

00:56:08and they're in the middle of making this decision right now.

00:56:11So, you're going to be put in a really tough position here,

00:56:14and if you haven't done the background

00:56:16to decide whether or not you would support

00:56:19a continuation or not, that's going to be a problem.

00:56:24Well, Senator, I'm not, I've done the background

00:56:27on what's going on with Basel.

00:56:28I'm just not privy to the changes that are being made,

00:56:31and do they fall within the Logical Outgrowth Doctrine,

00:56:34do they not?

00:56:35But what I can assure you is,

00:56:37I am very open to a re-proposal,

00:56:40but if confirmed, I would need to get in there

00:56:42and sort of understand this,

00:56:43but I'm not looking to rush something through

00:56:47for the sake of rushing it through.

00:56:48I'm looking to make sure that the regulation is long-lasting,

00:56:51it's going to work,

00:56:52and I want to understand all the unintended consequences.

00:56:54There is another possibility on that,

00:56:56because that decision is going to be made very, very shortly.

00:56:59And I recognize that they're asking you

00:57:00to move into a position rather quickly

00:57:02in this particular case.

00:57:05If you are confirmed,

00:57:08and we need to move forward quickly

00:57:11in this particular case, just because of the timing.

00:57:13This has been around for a long time,

00:57:14but it's coming up now.

00:57:16Would you recuse yourself from voting

00:57:18and allow Vice Chair Hill to finish the work

00:57:20on the Basel III endgame proposal?

00:57:22Would you commit to that?

00:57:25Senator, I think if I'm confirmed as chair,

00:57:30there'll be a decision made at the board level.

00:57:33I don't see a reason to recuse,

00:57:35but I can tell you what I'm trying to explain

00:57:37is I haven't seen the changes.

00:57:39I'm certainly inclined to have a re-proposal

00:57:43whenever there are this many comments,

00:57:45and then there's going to be broad material changes.

00:57:48That's my inclination.

00:57:49The broad material changes appear to be necessary

00:57:52if this is going to move forward at all.

00:57:53I think that's pretty clear,

00:57:54because I think over 95% of all the requests

00:57:57recommended making major changes

00:57:59in multiple different areas on it.

00:58:01Okay, in light of the, Ms. Romero,

00:58:04in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling

00:58:06on Chevron deference,

00:58:08agencies like the FDIC will need to make certain

00:58:11that they are complying with congressional intent.

00:58:15If confirmed, do you commit to implementing

00:58:17the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief,

00:58:19and Consumer Protection Act, that's S2155,

00:58:23as intended by Congress?

00:58:25I'm just curious.

00:58:28This really is a case of where there has been

00:58:32a rulemaking change in the way that it's going to be viewed

00:58:35in the future by the court.

00:58:38Intent is really going to be important.

00:58:41Give us your thoughts.

00:58:44Yeah, thank you for that question, Senator.

00:58:46Yeah, I really believe in that we are limited as regulators

00:58:50to the laws that are before us,

00:58:52and we always strive to look at congressional intent.

00:58:55Everything I do now is to sort of say,

00:58:57okay, well, what's the authorization here from Congress,

00:58:59and how do we stick with it?

00:59:01S2155 is the law of the land.

00:59:03I'm gonna comply with it.

00:59:04I really believe in the sentiments behind it

00:59:07in terms of tailoring regulation.

00:59:10As we talked about it, all banks are not the same.

00:59:12And I also wanna understand the unintended consequences

00:59:15of all these rules.

00:59:16So I just, if confirmed,

00:59:19would you commit to consulting with Congress

00:59:22if you view intent is not clear?

00:59:25100%, Senator.

00:59:26Thank you.

00:59:27Thank you, Ms. Chairman.

00:59:28My time is expired.

00:59:29Thank you, Senator Rounds.

00:59:30That's Senator Warren of Virginia.

00:59:31Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

00:59:32Let me actually pick up where my friend from South Dakota.

00:59:35As somebody, unfortunately,

00:59:37with some folks on my side of the dais,

00:59:41I was up to my eyeballs in S2155.

00:59:44So if you need intent suggestions,

00:59:49I'd be happy to share those with you.

00:59:53But I also have to say-

00:59:54On a bipartisan basis.

00:59:56Although, you know, we ought to go to the,

00:59:58they ought to, she ought to go first

00:59:59to the people who took the most grief for that.

01:00:01And I also think, you know,

01:00:04your comment, Ms. Goldsman-Thorne-Merrill,

01:00:05Commissioner, on Basel III was appropriate,

01:00:09absolutely appropriate.

01:00:10And the fact that you think, you know,

01:00:13you've not been told about,

01:00:15just as we've not been told about

01:00:16what the reworkings are gonna be

01:00:18and whether that needs to be fully reissued

01:00:22or additional comment period.

01:00:23I mean, I think it would be irresponsible

01:00:25to make a judgment when you, just like me,

01:00:28has not seen the revisions yet.

01:00:30So I think, and based on our conversations,

01:00:34you understood the complexity of this issue.

01:00:37And, you know, we all think

01:00:41how we deal with Basel III is terribly,

01:00:44the endgame, terribly important.

01:00:45And, you know, having the full economic analysis out,

01:00:48the chair, Chair Powell, committed to that yesterday,

01:00:51and making sure whatever direction we had,

01:00:55you know, that it works in harmony

01:00:57with already existing standards,

01:00:59I think is really important.

01:01:00I appreciate the way you've addressed this.

01:01:02And I know members have already asked this,

01:01:04but I wanna go at it again since it appears

01:01:07some of my colleagues have questions about,

01:01:09you know, your background experience.

01:01:11I think you've got the right background.

01:01:13I think you've got the right experience.

01:01:16You know, but the truth is, you know,

01:01:18FDIC's a large entity.

01:01:21It is very complicated.

01:01:24And you're gonna have a challenge to

01:01:28you know, both keep the trains running on time,

01:01:32and, you know, not move away from your critical

01:01:36financial supervisory role.

01:01:38So, can you give us a little bit of outline,

01:01:41recognizing you're not there yet,

01:01:42but can we look at 30 day metrics, 60 day metrics,

01:01:4590 day, you know, what are the things

01:01:47that we could see from you,

01:01:49particularly on the culture change,

01:01:51that, you know, I hope you can be confirmed,

01:01:54that we could look back and say,

01:01:56well, did she do what she said as she came into this role?

01:02:00Yeah, thank you, Senator.

01:02:01I appreciate the opportunity to address that.

01:02:03So, I think there's gonna be some immediate things

01:02:05that need to take place in that.

01:02:07The first of that is making sure

01:02:08that there's the right process in place.

01:02:10Because there was confusion in the process,

01:02:12and also making sure employees feel safe,

01:02:14and all the managers are encouraging people

01:02:18to use that process.

01:02:18Otherwise, if you don't have a process in place

01:02:21that people trust, then, you know,

01:02:24management does not know what's going on,

01:02:26and can't fix the problem.

01:02:27So, that's one of the first things

01:02:28that would need to be fixed.

01:02:30I think this issue of field offices and fiefdoms,

01:02:34that's gonna take a little bit longer, I would say.

01:02:37You know, as I said before,

01:02:39we had field offices at SIGTARP,

01:02:40and I made sure, I did a number of things

01:02:42to make sure that all the offices were operating

01:02:44in the exact same way,

01:02:47in terms of conduct and professionalism,

01:02:49but also in terms of substance, and what they're doing.

01:02:51We can't have offices moving in a different direction

01:02:55than, for example, what the policies,

01:02:57and practices, and procedures allow.

01:03:00So, that's gonna be a larger issue.

01:03:03There's definitely gonna be accountability,

01:03:06and that might take a little bit of time,

01:03:08but we wanna do it right.

01:03:10We wanna make sure we go in and right the ship.

01:03:13And then, there's really just this issue

01:03:15of modernizing culture, and modernizing ideas,

01:03:19changing litigation adverse mentality.

01:03:22I think we could do some things right at the beginning

01:03:24to start with that,

01:03:25but these are deep-seated, fully ingrained issues.

01:03:29Some of changing the whole culture

01:03:30is gonna take a bit of time,

01:03:32but we also, we can't take our eye off the ball

01:03:36of the mission.

01:03:37And so, you know, we had bank failures in spring 2023.

01:03:40We've gotta make sure that everyone's in position,

01:03:43and can be focused on mission.

01:03:45And I, again, agree with the chairman.

01:03:49This was not a problem at the FDIC that happened overnight.

01:03:52It is gonna take time, but I'm, you know,

01:03:54my hope would be we'd see a 90-day plan,

01:03:57180-day plan, and some of the things

01:03:59that we can look at at metrics.

01:04:01I'm gonna get one more question to you, Commissioner,

01:04:06but I do wanna say, just crunched off of the record,

01:04:09I'd love to both compliment what, frankly,

01:04:11Jay Clayton started on human capital disclosure,

01:04:13and I know you've been active on that as well,

01:04:16and I wanna make sure we continue that good work.

01:04:18An issue that my colleagues have heard me

01:04:22come back to repeatedly is better utilization

01:04:25of the discount window.

01:04:27Chair Powell in the House yesterday was saying,

01:04:28you know, the fact that they sometimes publish folks

01:04:33ends up creating that stigma.

01:04:35I just, if you get, when you get in,

01:04:38and you come to the same conclusion

01:04:39that discount window needs to be better utilized,

01:04:42and we need reforms, will you continue to work

01:04:45with Chair Powell, me, and others

01:04:46who care about this underutilized tool?

01:04:49Absolutely, I care about it, too.

01:04:50I mean, in times of crisis, banks need liquidity,

01:04:53and they need it fast.

01:04:54We saw liquidity dry up very quickly in the crisis,

01:04:57and that's actually what led to

01:04:59the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.

01:05:01So we don't wanna be in that same position again.

01:05:03So these ideas on taking away the stigma

01:05:05of the discount window, and then making sure

01:05:07banks are ready to use it, that they can

01:05:09potentially pre-pledge collateral,

01:05:12and that they know how to use it,

01:05:15I think that's worth taking the time to do.

01:05:16Thank you.

01:05:17Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

01:05:18Thanks, Senator Warner.

01:05:19Senator Tillis of North Carolina is recognized.

01:05:21Thank you, Mr. Chair.

01:05:22Congratulations to all of you for your nominations.

01:05:27Commissioner Crenshaw, I wanna start with you.

01:05:29You made a statement after the SEC's recent climate rule,

01:05:34and I think, to use your words,

01:05:37you said, you considered the rule to be the bare minimum,

01:05:41and not the rule I would have written.

01:05:44So I'm curious, with respect to scope three

01:05:48reporting requirements, is that one of the root causes

01:05:51of your disappointment?

01:05:51If you can keep your comments brief, I would appreciate it.

01:05:54Sure, Senator, thank you.

01:05:56With respect to bare minimum, my intent there was-

01:06:00Where did it fall short?

01:06:02It fell short, well, investors.

01:06:05I talked about two places where investors,

01:06:06what I was really thinking about when I said,

01:06:09not the rule I would have written,

01:06:10was I would have thought about using models,

01:06:12assumptions, and estimates much more completely

01:06:15than we did, and that way we could have gotten

01:06:18more information to investors in a way

01:06:20that was less expensive, and I would also have considered

01:06:24robust safe harbors from liability.

01:06:26If confirmed, would you consider reopening the rule?

01:06:32And if you did, would scope three reporting requirements

01:06:35be a part of the revised rule?

01:06:38I don't know, Senator.

01:06:39As you know, it's in litigation right now,

01:06:41so a lot is gonna depend on the outcome of the litigation,

01:06:44and I don't know-

01:06:45Do you generally support the notion

01:06:46of scope three reporting requirements?

01:06:48I think investors had put comments in the comment file,

01:06:52and I think we need to balance the interests,

01:06:54but I think there's a way that you can look at assumptions

01:06:57and estimates and a safe harbor from liability

01:06:59to ensure that the costs are not prohibitive,

01:07:02and to ensure that you're not asking farmers

01:07:04and unregistered entities to provide information.

01:07:06Okay, thank you.

01:07:08Ms. Goldsmith-Romero, I wanna go back

01:07:10to Silicon Valley Bank.

01:07:13What, in your opinion, if you could only,

01:07:15the major root cause of SVB's failure,

01:07:18what cause of SVB's failure, what was it?

01:07:21Was it, well, actually, let me not give you choices.

01:07:25What do you think the root cause of SVB Bank was?

01:07:31Thank you, Senator.

01:07:31For that, failure of risk management at the bank,

01:07:34and then failures on the regulatory supervision.

01:07:38Yeah, so you didn't see capitalization as an issue?

01:07:43I was not a bank regular at that time,

01:07:45but it seemed like the root cause

01:07:47is what you were just asking.

01:07:48Poorly managed and poorly supervised?

01:07:50Correct.

01:07:57And I think as a result, because at the time of the,

01:08:00it seems like it was ages ago.

01:08:02It's hard to believe it hasn't been that long.

01:08:06But at the time of the failure, everybody was saying,

01:08:08and because they failed, so many other banks were failing.

01:08:11Was it your opinion that what we saw there

01:08:14was gonna ripple through?

01:08:15I know we had the one other failure, First Republic,

01:08:19but do you view those, as some of us do,

01:08:22as kind of outliers in the banking industry

01:08:24based on their models and activities?

01:08:28This is a really interesting question.

01:08:30So let me take it back even a little bit farther,

01:08:32which is the crisis.

01:08:33And this really comes down to consumer confidence, right?

01:08:36If consumers don't have confidence

01:08:38that their money is safe, businesses and individuals,

01:08:41then you're gonna see bank runs

01:08:44and you're gonna see contagion.

01:08:45You may have bank runs not even related

01:08:47to the banks who are in trouble.

01:08:48And we don't wanna have that.

01:08:50We don't wanna have people pulling their money

01:08:51out of the bank and putting it

01:08:52in just one of the hugest banks, thinking that it's safe.

01:08:56And so I think there was a situation

01:08:59where there was Silicon Valley Bank and Signature

01:09:01and the regulators tried to contain that.

01:09:05But I do think we need to really be looking deeply

01:09:08at this issue of bank runs and consumer confidence,

01:09:11particularly in modernized banking.

01:09:13I just felt like there was some thinking.

01:09:16A lot of people were attributing the Senate Bill 2155.

01:09:20I was one of four on my side that worked

01:09:22with Senator Warner and others on that bill.

01:09:25They were trying to blame it on just a lack of regulation,

01:09:30but it doesn't really, it seemed like a lack

01:09:32of supervision and a lack of risk management.

01:09:35So I'll move on from there.

01:09:38Kind of curious about your view of the 2024 stress test.

01:09:42I read the results of those stress tests

01:09:44to say that our banks are pretty well capitalized.

01:09:47How do you read the results of those stress tests?

01:09:49Yeah, so again, I'm on the outside looking at it

01:09:53just like you are.

01:09:54And so it does seem like some capital is strong.

01:09:58I think there are some areas that need to be looked at,

01:10:01but that's how I read the stress.

01:10:02But is a stress test, by definition,

01:10:05really subjecting the banks to some of those areas?

01:10:08Do you think that the stress tests themselves

01:10:10are insufficient, or you just need to look at the details

01:10:13within the stress test scenarios?

01:10:15Yeah, I mean, I'm very familiar with stress tests.

01:10:17I mean, it's designed for capital adequacy, and so.

01:10:20And it's literally stressing, so it's coming up

01:10:23with extraordinary circumstances, so.

01:10:25Absolutely, sir, yes.

01:10:27Okay, thank you.

01:10:27Thank you, Mr. Chair.

01:10:29Thank you, Senator Tillis.

01:10:30Senator Warren from Massachusetts.

01:10:32Thank you, Mr. Chairman,

01:10:33and congratulations to all of our nominees.

01:10:36Good to see you here today.

01:10:37So, Commissioner Goldsmith-Romero,

01:10:39as chair of the FDIC, your job would involve

01:10:43not only helping to prevent bank crises,

01:10:46but also cleaning up after them when the banks fail.

01:10:52You've had decades of experience as a financial regulator,

01:10:55including getting up close and personal

01:10:58with teetering banks during your 10 years

01:11:01as head of SIGTARP.

01:11:03In the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis,

01:11:06Congress created a $700 billion fund

01:11:09called the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.

01:11:13It was designed to stabilize the financial system,

01:11:16and you led the oversight of that huge fund for a decade.

01:11:22You also managed SIGTARP's $45 million operating budget,

01:11:27and its hundreds of staff.

01:11:29By all accounts, you did so with incredible success,

01:11:32recovering over $11 billion for the American people.

01:11:36In fact, I understand that for every dollar

01:11:39your office spent, the American taxpayer got a $29 return.

01:11:46That's pretty good.

01:11:48Commissioner Goldsmith-Romero,

01:11:50your work at SIGTARP required you to review

01:11:53the quality of bank assets,

01:11:55confidential examination reports, management processes,

01:12:00and compliance with federal regulations.

01:12:04So how does that compare with the kind of work

01:12:07a bank examiner does at the OCC, the FDIC,

01:12:12or the Federal Reserve?

01:12:14It's very, very, very similar, Senator.

01:12:17I appreciate that question.

01:12:18So we would go in, just like a bank examiner goes in.

01:12:21In fact, sometimes we'd grab the operating system

01:12:23and go through the banks.

01:12:24We'd look at what led up to the call reports.

01:12:27We'd trend out the call reports.

01:12:28We'd see changes in Camel's ratings.

01:12:30I mean, we would go deep into these banks.

01:12:32I think the difference is that often we had more time

01:12:36to look at these.

01:12:37We dealt with a lot of failed banks, troubled banks.

01:12:40We would determine the cause of the failure,

01:12:42and then when we would determine the cause of the failure,

01:12:44if we could hold some bankers accountable for that,

01:12:47we would seek reimbursement to the FDIC

01:12:50for losses to the deposit insurance fund.

01:12:53That's harder for bank examiners to do this.

01:12:55And then we had a higher standard

01:12:58that we had to prove in doing our work.

01:13:01All right, and that's where your $29 to $1 invested

01:13:05came from, holding these folks accountable.

01:13:08Yeah, this is how we got our great return on investment.

01:13:12Good.

01:13:13You know, this seems like pretty useful experience

01:13:15for the person named to lead the agency

01:13:17in charge of dealing with failed banks.

01:13:19In fact, I can't think of better experience.

01:13:23The last Republican who was named to head the FDIC

01:13:26had no experience in dealing with failed banks.

01:13:30Ms. Goldsmith-Romero, you ran SIGTARP

01:13:33at a time of extraordinary upheaval in the banking industry.

01:13:37Can you estimate how many troubled banks you dealt with?

01:13:42Hundreds.

01:13:42I mean, there was more than 700 banks in TARP.

01:13:46You know, we were constantly working with them,

01:13:48trying to understand their health and their condition

01:13:51and risk that they faced.

01:13:53And then we investigated

01:13:54and went very deep into triple digits.

01:13:57Okay, so you spent years digging through

01:14:00the guts of troubled banks

01:14:02and compliance with banking and securities laws.

01:14:06You kept some open, others you ended up closing,

01:14:09and that experience is pretty much spot on

01:14:13for somebody to lead the agency

01:14:14in charge of monitoring the banks

01:14:16and cleaning up the ones that fail.

01:14:18Commissioner Goldsmith-Romero,

01:14:20we know that there are workplace issues at the FDIC.

01:14:25During your time at SIGTARP,

01:14:27there were some workplace complaints filed.

01:14:31Should that be a red flag

01:14:33that you are not a successful manager?

01:14:36No, Senator, you want to have a process

01:14:39that people feel safe using

01:14:41and that they actually do use

01:14:43and they're not fearful of.

01:14:44And that does not exist at the FDIC.

01:14:47But you also want to look at the results.

01:14:49And in 11 years, we only had one finding against us

01:14:53early in my tenure,

01:14:55and I took it seriously and addressed it.

01:14:56So ultimately, what you want

01:14:58is to set up an environment of high dignity,

01:15:00professionalism, respect,

01:15:02employees feel supported and valued

01:15:04so that they'll come in and they'll give 110%,

01:15:07and that's how we got such great results at SIGTARP.

01:15:10Yeah, well, I very much appreciate

01:15:12both that you have thought through these issues

01:15:15and actually have extensive experience with it.

01:15:18These are critically important economic positions

01:15:21that the nominees before us are eminently qualified to fill.

01:15:26I'm sorry, I don't have time to talk with everyone,

01:15:28but I really appreciate your work here.

01:15:30Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

01:15:32Thank you, Senator Warren.

01:15:33Senator Kennedy from Louisiana.

01:15:38Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

01:15:41Ms. Romero,

01:15:46I know you've read the Cleary Gottlieb report,

01:15:50is that correct?

01:15:51Yes, Senator.

01:15:54I've watched a lot of powerful people in this town

01:15:59try to cover it up.

01:16:02They said, oh, it's bad, but don't worry.

01:16:06The FDIC chairman will fix it.

01:16:11This was the same FDIC chairman

01:16:15who had been at the agency since God was a corporal

01:16:19and under whom all this stuff happened.

01:16:23And fortunately, that point of view didn't prevail.

01:16:28Here's the way I read the report.

01:16:3197 people at that agency reported 145 separate incidents

01:16:37of sexual assaults.

01:16:3991 others reported 141 separate incidents

01:16:44of gender or sexuality-based discrimination.

01:16:47187 people reported 320 separate incidents of verbal abuse.

01:16:56Over 500 people, about 10% of the people at the agency

01:17:01came forward about discrimination, harassment,

01:17:04mistreatment they faced at the FDIC.

01:17:10Now, I listened to you say all the right words.

01:17:14And you talked about accountability.

01:17:17And you talked about refurbishing

01:17:20the tarnished reputation of the agents.

01:17:25And you talked about listening.

01:17:27And I appreciate all that.

01:17:30But the phrase that got my attention was,

01:17:32send a clear message that this won't be tolerated.

01:17:36If you wanna do that, what you need to do

01:17:40before you do your listening tours

01:17:43or all that other stuff,

01:17:45you need to investigate every one of these allegations,

01:17:50every single one, and find out if they're true.

01:17:55And if they are true,

01:17:57then somebody oughta be the person who's responsible,

01:18:01should be fired,

01:18:03should be sued,

01:18:06and or should be prosecuted.

01:18:10And then you'll have a cleaner agency.

01:18:14Now, I don't have any questions.

01:18:17You're either gonna do it or you're not.

01:18:20But I think a lot of the members of the committee

01:18:23agree with me, we're gonna be watching.

01:18:26Every time the FDIC comes before the banking committee

01:18:29as long as I'm on it,

01:18:30I'm gonna ask you about progress with specificity.

01:18:36Ms. Crenshaw,

01:18:40this climate risk disclosure rule

01:18:47that you're so proud of,

01:18:50how much is that gonna cost

01:18:52the companies that you regulate?

01:18:54Senator, on a per issuer basis over 10 years,

01:18:59I think the economic analysis was roughly $250,000

01:19:03to $750,000 on a per issuer basis over 10 years.

01:19:09What's the total cost, please?

01:19:11I don't know the total cost.

01:19:12Do you have no idea?

01:19:14Well, it's gonna depend very much

01:19:15on the individual issuer.

01:19:17So you impose this rule on the individual issuer?

01:19:19Yes, I do.

01:19:20I do.

01:19:21It depends on the individual issuer.

01:19:23So you impose this rule on every single entity

01:19:27that you regulate and you don't know the total cost?

01:19:30Well, Senator, it depends on the individual issuer.

01:19:31We put in place-

01:19:32You don't know the total cost?

01:19:35It's gonna depend on the individual issuer.

01:19:36You don't know, do you?

01:19:38Because it's gonna depend,

01:19:39I don't think there's necessarily-

01:19:40It's gonna be billions of dollars, isn't it?

01:19:42I don't believe on a per issuer basis

01:19:44that it's going to be-

01:19:45I didn't say per issue, I mean the total cost.

01:19:49Senator, on-

01:19:50It's gonna be billions of dollars, isn't it?

01:19:51I don't know, Senator.

01:19:53Yeah, it is.

01:19:53And you know it is.

01:19:56How much, after asking all these businesses

01:20:00to spend billions of dollars,

01:20:04how much is that gonna lower world temperatures?

01:20:07I don't know.

01:20:08It's not designed to global,

01:20:09it's not designed to lower temperatures, Senator.

01:20:11It's designed to give investors information

01:20:15so that they can assess risk-

01:20:16Why don't you just send them an email?

01:20:19Well, I think there's a lot of securities laws

01:20:21that would prohibit us just sending an email.

01:20:23Let me be sure I understand.

01:20:24You voted to spend-

01:20:26Look, we all want clean air and bright water.

01:20:30You voted to spend, to require the people regulated

01:20:34and the entities regulated by the FDIC

01:20:37billions and billions of dollars,

01:20:40even though you can't say really how much it's gonna cost,

01:20:42you're just gonna make them do it.

01:20:44And you can't tell me today

01:20:45how much it's gonna lower world temperatures?

01:20:48Again, that's not what the rule's designed for, Senator.

01:20:51Well, what's it designed for?

01:20:53It's designed-

01:20:53To harass people?

01:20:54To give investors information to assess risk-

01:20:57Virtue signaling?

01:20:58To appropriately allocate their capital.

01:21:01I mean, this is insanity.

01:21:04You have a personal supply chain.

01:21:07Suppose we passed a law that said,

01:21:10periodically, you've gotta report personally

01:21:15the carbon emissions of the people

01:21:21who make all the clothes you buy.

01:21:22You buy clothes, don't you?

01:21:24I do, Senator.

01:21:25And the car you drive, and the house you live in,

01:21:30and the food you eat, how much do you think that would cost?

01:21:34We carved out all of the smaller entities,

01:21:37EGCs, SRCs, from the final rule to ensure that-

01:21:41If you think everybody ought to report,

01:21:42why don't you make this rule applicable

01:21:44to everybody at the SEC personally,

01:21:47and see how they like it?

01:21:48Again, we carved out the smallest.

01:21:50We took into account the comment file,

01:21:52and we tried to-

01:21:53Tell me again how much this is gonna lower

01:21:55world temperatures.

01:21:56I don't know if I remember asking you.

01:21:57I think you know the answer to that, Senator Kennedy.

01:21:59Zero.

01:22:00Your time has expired, Senator Cortez-Mast.

01:22:02I was reckoning.

01:22:03Thank you, Mr. Chair.

01:22:04Ms. Crenshaw, unfortunately, you weren't able

01:22:06to answer the questions that were asked you.

01:22:08Are there any that you would like to respond to,

01:22:10particularly the total cost amount?

01:22:12You were trying to explain why you couldn't

01:22:13put a total cost to it.

01:22:16Thank you, Senator.

01:22:17It really depends on the individual issuer,

01:22:20and we put in, in the final rule,

01:22:22some phased-in compliance dates.

01:22:25We really catered it to and balanced it

01:22:29to what we thought was appropriate

01:22:30based on the comment file,

01:22:31so smaller reporting companies, emerging growth companies

01:22:34do not have the same obligations

01:22:36that some of the larger issuers have,

01:22:38and thus, really, the cost is going to depend

01:22:41on the size of the issuer at any given moment,

01:22:43who's in which category, and again,

01:22:45it's much more accurate to look at it

01:22:48on a per-issuer basis, in my view.

01:22:49Thank you.

01:22:51I will say this, also, about your background,

01:22:53and I appreciate your public service at the SEIC.

01:22:57I also appreciate your military service

01:23:00as a captain in the United States Army Reserve

01:23:03and at the Judge Advocate General Corps.

01:23:05Thank you very much.

01:23:06You have been a leader.

01:23:08This has been my focus and some on this committee,

01:23:11and ensuring that the men and women who serve our country

01:23:12don't get taken advantage of by scammers,

01:23:15and I appreciate your work there.

01:23:18There is one case that I have been following,

01:23:20and it's the case against Kaz Crafty,

01:23:24an Army financial counselor who used his position

01:23:28to manipulate grieving Gold Star families

01:23:31by directing them to transfer their benefits

01:23:35into brokerage accounts he managed

01:23:37and made commissions off of

01:23:39outside of his official duties.

01:23:41What more do you think the SEC can do

01:23:43to protect members of the military and their families

01:23:45from being victims of scammers like this?

01:23:50Thank you, and I haven't said this today.

01:23:51I actually just got picked up for a major, so I don't know.

01:23:54Congratulations.

01:23:55I will be promoted in the military at some point.

01:23:57Thank you.

01:23:58So first and foremost, I think we need to impose

01:24:01harsher penalties for frauds and scams

01:24:03that target our military.

01:24:05We need to make sure that there's a cost

01:24:08to targeting our service members

01:24:09and their vulnerable family members.

01:24:11I would also love to work with your office

01:24:13and members of this body

01:24:15to ensure that conflicts of interest

01:24:17among military financial counselors are prohibited.

01:24:20Their interests need to be with a service member

01:24:22and not their own,

01:24:24and I think we need to really figure out a way

01:24:26to eliminate those conflicts of interest,

01:24:28and I think that they need to receive

01:24:31adequate training, licensure, and oversight,

01:24:34and I think there are ways to think

01:24:35through a centralized body

01:24:37or a way to make sure that that oversight

01:24:41and that accountability is there

01:24:43for financial counselors in the military.

01:24:45Thank you.

01:24:46The more that we can do with our federal agencies

01:24:47to protect our families in the military,

01:24:50I think it's just so crucial.

01:24:51They are always constantly the victims of scams,

01:24:55a scammer, so thank you for that.

01:24:57Let me ask Ms. Goldsmith-Romero.

01:25:01First of all, there's been a lot of conversation

01:25:04about your previous experience as an inspector general

01:25:07overseeing the capital investments of more than 700 banks,

01:25:10and you led a staff of 140 people.

01:25:13You did incredible work.

01:25:14Thank you very much.

01:25:15I was attorney general when you were at SIGTARP.

01:25:17Thank you.

01:25:18During the downturn of the crisis,

01:25:19it was something I took on for the big banks as well.

01:25:22So based on your experience,

01:25:26can you describe for me the skills that you developed

01:25:29during that time that you will bring to the FDIC?

01:25:33Thank you, Senator,

01:25:34and I really appreciate you working with me as SIGTARP

01:25:37in your position as Senator for the great state of Nevada.

01:25:40So I became an expert in capital and liquidity

01:25:45and the interconnections of our financial institutions

01:25:48that not only will bring down banks

01:25:52that are connected to each other, which we saw,

01:25:54but also have Wall Street be interconnected to Main Street

01:25:58so we can see how Main Street is hurt

01:26:02when Wall Street gets in trouble.

01:26:04So there was a lot that I did.

01:26:06I would have to meet constantly with Chair Behr

01:26:10at the FDIC and Secretary Paulson and Secretary Geithner

01:26:14and Chair Ben Bernanke to figure out

01:26:17how do we get in this position?

01:26:19How do we get ourselves so vulnerable

01:26:21and then what needs to change for that?

01:26:22And some of that went then to Dodd-Frank

01:26:26and the changes that need to be happening.

01:26:27And so I know all of sort of the Dodd-Frank

01:26:30and what needs to be implemented

01:26:31to get our financial system in a position

01:26:34where it's much healthier.

01:26:35Then on inside of banks and doing our investigations

01:26:39and also our auditing of just what banks needed

01:26:43during times of great turmoil

01:26:46when there was a lot of failed banks happening

01:26:49that we were going into

01:26:50and then determining the causes of the failure,

01:26:53we could see how banks manage risk or didn't manage risk.

01:26:57We could see the difference

01:26:58if there was a culture of risk management

01:27:00or if there wasn't.

01:27:01These are the types of things

01:27:03that are really, really important

01:27:05from a supervisory standpoint

01:27:06and then also just more generally as a financial regulator.

01:27:10Thank you, I know my time is out

01:27:12so I won't be able to ask the rest of the questions

01:27:15but let me just say to all of the panelists, thank you.

01:27:17Thank you for your willingness to serve.

01:27:19Congratulations on your nominations

01:27:22and welcome to all of the family members

01:27:24who are either here or watching on as well.

01:27:26Thank you.

01:27:27Senator Cortez Masto, Senator Hagerty is recognized.

01:27:31Thank you, Chairman Brown.

01:27:33Commissioner Crenshaw, I'd like to start with you please.

01:27:35You're a vocal supporter of including scope three emissions

01:27:38in the SEC's climate disclosure rule.

01:27:41I'd just like you to briefly explain for us

01:27:42your views on these requirements.

01:27:46Thank you, Senator.

01:27:47Again, I think that investors were asking for information

01:27:51and I think one of the things investors were asking for

01:27:54was a variety of information

01:27:55and there was a lot of support for scope three.

01:27:57At the end of the day, as you know, we did not include it.

01:27:59One of the things that I really think

01:28:01we should have thought about more completely

01:28:02were using models and estimates and assumptions,

01:28:06ways that issuers could provide investors

01:28:10with the information that they were looking for

01:28:12without having to go to the farmers,

01:28:14without having to go upstream or downstream.

01:28:16And I also think we could have really considered

01:28:19a robust safe harbor from liability.

01:28:21That way it would have reduced costs for issuers

01:28:23and provided information to investors.

01:28:25I'm glad to hear you talk about cost right now,

01:28:27but it seemed that when you were responding

01:28:28to Senator Kennedy, you didn't have a good idea

01:28:30about what the costs are,

01:28:30but the cost would be significant.

01:28:32The complexity, obviously, very considerable.

01:28:35When it comes to nominations,

01:28:37our job is to endorse or reject the policy positions

01:28:40that you've taken because we've got to look

01:28:42at your past history as we think about the future.

01:28:45I really find it troubling that you leveraged your office

01:28:48at the SEC to advance these extreme climate positions.

01:28:52I think you've gone way beyond the remit of the SEC,

01:28:54and it's deeply concerning.

01:28:56Not only did you support this climate disclosure rule,

01:28:59but you have argued that it didn't go far enough.

01:29:01And these requirements would crush businesses

01:29:05from manufacturing to energy to agriculture.

01:29:09I've talked to farmers in my state.

01:29:12They talk about, and farmers across the nation, frankly,

01:29:15have talked about how much of a burden

01:29:17this would have imposed on them,

01:29:19disclosing personal information, business information,

01:29:21or go out of business.

01:29:23You talked about wanting to impose cost on scammers.

01:29:26I can tell you, you would impose cost on farmers

01:29:29to the extent you could even put them out of business

01:29:30and the type of legal liability and exposure

01:29:33that this might be a predicate for.

01:29:35I don't know where you're trying to go with this.

01:29:36This absolutely has no place in my view.

01:29:38This is a very misguided proposal you've supported.

01:29:41Commissioner Goldsmith-Romero, I'd like to come to you.

01:29:44It was reported that in 2016,

01:29:46when you were the Inspector General for TARP

01:29:48in investigating corruption allegations

01:29:49related to Mayor Mike Duggan's Detroit demolition program,

01:29:54that you told state investigators to, quote,

01:29:56go dark and halt that investigation,

01:30:00noting to your staff,

01:30:01Mayor Duggan's Obama-White House ties

01:30:04and his potential Clinton administration role.

01:30:07Is that true?

01:30:08Did you tell mission investigators in 2016

01:30:10to slow down their investigation?

01:30:12Absolutely not.

01:30:12That's completely made up.

01:30:14Can I just get this on the record then?

01:30:16Did you tell your staff in 2016

01:30:18that Mayor Duggan was close with the Obama-White House

01:30:22and a potential Hillary Clinton cabinet member

01:30:24or other senior post in the Clinton administration?

01:30:26No, Senator.

01:30:27I'm glad to have that on the record.

01:30:28Thank you.

01:30:29Come back to you, Commissioner Crenshaw.

01:30:32You descended from the SEC's approval

01:30:34of Grayscale's pot spot Bitcoin ETF application,

01:30:37despite the fact that a federal court

01:30:40had struck down the SEC's prior disapproval.

01:30:43Do you continue to disagree

01:30:44with the SEC's approval of Bitcoin ETFs?

01:30:49Senator, to approve an ETP,

01:30:52you have to make a public interest finding

01:30:54on each individual one.

01:30:56So to the degree that the commission votes,

01:30:58and we've only voted on that one, Senator.

01:31:01And to make that public interest finding,

01:31:03you look at the facts in front of you.

01:31:06And given the significant fraud

01:31:09in the underlying spot markets globally,

01:31:12given the opacity-

01:31:13Well, the court looked at the facts

01:31:15and they struck it down.

01:31:16I've just been deeply disturbed

01:31:18by the posture that the commission

01:31:20and specifically yourself have taken

01:31:22with hostility toward the crypto industry.

01:31:24This is a critical industry

01:31:25in terms of innovation and technology in our country,

01:31:28and I hate to see it being pushed overseas.

01:31:31Commissioner Goldsmith-Romero,

01:31:32I'm going to come back to you now.

01:31:34The current FDIC chairman

01:31:35grossly mishandled the auctions

01:31:37of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank,

01:31:39two of the largest bank failures in US history.

01:31:42Where do you think the biggest risks are right now

01:31:44within the banking system?

01:31:46Thank you for that question, Senator.

01:31:48I think we need to look at,

01:31:49we still have this commercial real estate risk

01:31:53that is happening, particularly related to offices

01:31:57and after the pandemic and also multifamily homes.

01:32:00So I think that's a major risk we have to look at.

01:32:03I think we also just need to continue

01:32:04to think about interest rate risk

01:32:06and how banks should manage that.

01:32:09So those are some of the areas-

01:32:10Real quickly, FDIC leadership heavily cited

01:32:13the requirements of the least cost test

01:32:16as an excuse for the fact that these auctions failed.

01:32:18What role did the least cost test play

01:32:20in the failed auctions in your view?

01:32:23Yeah, so I'm just looking at it from the outside,

01:32:24Senator, just like you are.

01:32:26And so I don't know-

01:32:27Actually, I'm not looking at it from the outside.

01:32:29I saw what happened.

01:32:30And the least cost rule is an excuse

01:32:32because it was misapplied.

01:32:33It's got to be fixed.

01:32:35The person that's going to come in and lead this agency

01:32:36can't learn on the job.

01:32:37You need to know how it needs to be addressed

01:32:40because what we did here,

01:32:41what the commission did,

01:32:42was expose the system to massive risk.

01:32:44It should have never happened this way.

01:32:46How would you fix it?

01:32:47Yeah, so I understand the least cost test.

01:32:49What I don't-

01:32:50What I was saying from the outside is

01:32:52I can't see sort of specifically how it was applied

01:32:54and how they came up with those numbers.

01:32:56That's something that's been raised

01:32:57by a number of senators

01:32:58and would be one of the top things

01:32:59I would go in to try to dig behind

01:33:01and try to figure out what is going on.

01:33:03I hope that before you're confirmed,

01:33:04you will work with us

01:33:05to come up with an approach to this.

01:33:07Because again, you could get the call on day one

01:33:10when you walk in the office

01:33:11that there's another bank failure.

01:33:12We can't let this situation repeat itself.

01:33:15Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

01:33:17Senator Warnock of Georgia is recognized.

01:33:20Thank you so very much, Chair Brown,

01:33:22and thank you to all of the nominees

01:33:24for your commitment to serve.

01:33:27I'd also like to extend a special welcome

01:33:30to Commissioner Kristen Johnson,

01:33:32who hails from the great state of Georgia,

01:33:35where she has served as a law professor

01:33:37at Emory University.

01:33:39Congratulations, Commissioner Johnson,

01:33:42and congratulations to your family.

01:33:44As we've discussed in this committee,

01:33:46systemic and cultural issues

01:33:48have plagued the FDIC in recent years.

01:33:51It's clear that senior leadership of the FDIC

01:33:54turned a blind eye.

01:33:56A blind eye to ongoing discrimination,

01:33:58harassment, and abuse.

01:34:01And they failed to properly reprimand

01:34:04or terminate offenders.

01:34:08Simply, the FDIC failed to institute

01:34:11a culture of accountability.

01:34:14And as a result, employee morale is low,

01:34:18which has deep implications for the mission.

01:34:20Ms. Goldsmith-Romero,

01:34:22thank you for visiting with me yesterday.

01:34:24I enjoyed our conversation in my office

01:34:27to discuss your plans for the FDIC.

01:34:31If you are confirmed as its next chair,

01:34:33I appreciated your candor.

01:34:36The task you face, as you well recognize,

01:34:39is monumental.

01:34:41This is tough work.

01:34:43The FDIC plays a critical role

01:34:45in ensuring the safety and the soundness

01:34:48of our financial system,

01:34:49and it needs an energized workforce

01:34:51in order to do that.

01:34:53What experience do you have

01:34:54changing organizational cultures?

01:34:58And how do you plan to draw on that experience

01:35:00at the FDIC?

01:35:02Thank you, Senator.

01:35:03I very much enjoyed our conversation

01:35:05in your office and talking through,

01:35:07these are tough issues.

01:35:09So I came into SIGTARP,

01:35:11and it was primarily a law enforcement office.

01:35:14It was male-dominated.

01:35:16It was special agents who I have a great regard for,

01:35:20and because they put their lives on the line.

01:35:22But I would say sometimes the level

01:35:25of professionalism, the language,

01:35:27and all of that was not at the level

01:35:29that I thought was appropriate,

01:35:31particularly for an IG's office.

01:35:33One of the things I came in and did

01:35:35was raise very high this level of respect

01:35:40and this level of professionalism,

01:35:42this level of dignity by which

01:35:45we would treat each other,

01:35:46but also how we would refer to those

01:35:47we were investigating and anyone

01:35:51that we were coming in contact with.

01:35:53And so that organizational change

01:35:56and being able to do that

01:35:58and bring people along with that

01:35:59so they didn't fight me on it,

01:36:01but that they actually embraced it

01:36:03and moved in that direction,

01:36:04I think that would bring to the FDIC.

01:36:06And as you expressed yesterday

01:36:08and expressed today, it seemed

01:36:10it was just part of the culture.

01:36:12And people, this is just how it is?

01:36:16Yeah, I think cultures can change.

01:36:18And I think you start with the tone

01:36:20at the top and what's acceptable,

01:36:22and you send clear messages

01:36:23as to what's acceptable and what's not.

01:36:25The Clery report made seven recommendations

01:36:28for the FDIC ranging from protecting victims,

01:36:31improving policies, and holding leadership

01:36:33accountable for inaction.

01:36:36When Chair Gruenberg came in front

01:36:37of the Banking Committee in May,

01:36:39he agreed to provide a written update

01:36:41and briefing to my subcommittee

01:36:43on the status of these recommendations.

01:36:46Ms. Goldsmith-Romero, what is your sense

01:36:48of where the FDIC is in implementing

01:36:51these recommendations?

01:36:53Yes, Senator, it's hard for me to see

01:36:55on the outside, although I read

01:36:58some of the things that are happening

01:37:00on the website, but I'm very committed

01:37:02to being transparent with you

01:37:04and communicating with you as part

01:37:06of your chair of the subcommittee.

01:37:09Well, yeah, I made it clear to him

01:37:11in no uncertain terms that as chair

01:37:13of Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions,

01:37:17I would hold him accountable

01:37:18and would hold anyone in that position

01:37:21accountable for cultural and structural changes needed.

01:37:24And I look forward to supporting your nomination

01:37:29and holding you accountable to turning the FDIC around.

01:37:33Certainly, you bring the kind of experience

01:37:35that we need at just this particular moment.

01:37:40Since I've got a little bit more time,

01:37:45a common theme in the post-mortems

01:37:47of the bank failures last spring

01:37:51was that there was a brain drain at the FDIC

01:37:54that led to a lack of seasoned

01:37:55and competent bank examiners,

01:37:57which helped prevent issues from being caught early.

01:38:00At the time, this was attributed

01:38:01to low pay and difficult working conditions.

01:38:04We now know that the FDIC failed

01:38:05to protect junior employees, particularly women

01:38:09and people of color from harassment

01:38:11and retaliation and failed to punish the wrongdoers.

01:38:14How will you ensure examiners feel empowered

01:38:17while also working to recruit,

01:38:20to retain and support examiners,

01:38:22specifically examiners who are women and people of color?

01:38:25Thank you for that, Senator.

01:38:27We gotta make sure that they feel safe.

01:38:29We gotta make sure there's a good process

01:38:32that they trust, that they can raise these complaints.

01:38:34And then we have to empower examiners

01:38:37in other ways that allow them to be nimble,

01:38:39that allow them to use their judgment

01:38:41and their expertise and experience.

01:38:42And I do want to be able to recruit

01:38:45to deal with this issue of the workforce

01:38:49and how long some of them have been

01:38:52and we need to bring more in.

01:38:54Thank you so much.

01:38:55I think all of this underscores

01:38:57the ways in which these issues that we're raising

01:38:59around the culture, around accountability,

01:39:01abuse, harassment, that these aren't extraneous

01:39:05to the mission.

01:39:07They are central to the ability of FDIC

01:39:09to carry out its mission for employee morale,

01:39:12for folks to remain focused on the work

01:39:14that we require them to do, need them to do

01:39:16in order to protect our financial system.

01:39:18So thank you again for offering yourselves up for service

01:39:22and I look forward to supporting your nomination.

01:39:25Thank you, Senator Warnock as Senator Brett

01:39:26of Alabama is recognized.

01:39:27Thank you, Chairman Brown.

01:39:29Welcome to all of the people here and your families.

01:39:32I saw that so many of you brought your families.

01:39:34So we are so glad that y'all are here today as well.

01:39:38So I want to start, thank you so much for coming by.

01:39:40Enjoyed having, being able to have a conversation.

01:39:43I want to start where my colleague from Georgia left off.

01:39:46He is exactly right.

01:39:47We have got to go back to instilling confidence in the FDIC.

01:39:51It was created in 1933 so that Americans

01:39:55did have confidence in that.

01:39:56And I think the FDIC has lost its way

01:39:59and has forgotten what its core mission is.

01:40:01So just want to associate myself with those comments

01:40:05in saying we want our best and brightest working at the SEC.

01:40:09We want that to be the place they want to work.

01:40:12That's ultimately going to be what helps us maintain

01:40:14the stability of our financial institutions

01:40:16and also ensure Americans are confident

01:40:19that their hard-earned taxpayer dollars are protected.

01:40:22So Mrs. Goldsmith-Romero, we discussed yesterday.

01:40:27I am incredibly concerned, obviously,

01:40:29that as the FDIC has strayed from its primary core

01:40:33purpose and mission, it's become an agency that

01:40:35is overly involved in controversial rulemaking

01:40:39and has become politicized in many ways

01:40:43in its decision-making process rather than actually following

01:40:46that core mission.

01:40:48And on that, I wanted to get your thoughts

01:40:50on if we see another failure like we saw last year.

01:40:55Let's say a bank similar in scale to SVB were to fail.

01:41:00How would you approach that resolution process?

01:41:05Thank you, Senator.

01:41:06I very much enjoyed our conversation in your office

01:41:08and appreciate your commitment to making sure

01:41:13that the FDIC thrives in its mission.

01:41:16So I dealt with a lot of failed banks while at SIGTARP,

01:41:19and these things happen fast.

01:41:20So I think the first thing you need to do

01:41:22is to ensure that the FDIC is looking at pockets of risk

01:41:27in a very proactive way, data analytics way,

01:41:30and that we also understand connections.

01:41:33And then we figure out what needs to happen.

01:41:35First thing you need to do is sort of figure out

01:41:37what you're going to do with the bank in terms of a resolution

01:41:40when you walk in.

01:41:41Is there going to be an auction?

01:41:42Is that just going to be wound down?

01:41:44How do you keep deposits?

01:41:44Yeah, and on the auction, let's say

01:41:46there's going to be an auction.

01:41:47Would you allow an open bidding process

01:41:49where all banks can or financial institutions

01:41:53can be a part of that?

01:41:54I think we'd want to bring all the bidders in to try

01:41:57to get the best result.

01:41:59All interested parties should have that opportunity.

01:42:02And in what circumstance would you

01:42:03decide to liquidate rather than auction off

01:42:08the bank private sector?

01:42:10It's tough.

01:42:11It's tough in terms of liquidation.

01:42:13You want to make sure that the deposits are safe.

01:42:16That's the number one thing with the deposit insurance fund.

01:42:18You also want to look at those assets

01:42:20and say if there's going to be a loss of deposit insurance fund,

01:42:23you want to see if there's assets to sell.

01:42:26So sometimes, though, there's going to be a liquidation.

01:42:29Well, let's say that it is a bidding process.

01:42:31How do you decide which offer to accept?

01:42:34Well, I think we have to follow the least cost test, which

01:42:36is laid out by Congress.

01:42:38And then we'd follow all the standards that are in that.

01:42:41And we'd follow all the rules.

01:42:43So under that scenario, would you

01:42:44commit to accepting the highest bidder, the highest

01:42:49bidder that comes to you?

01:42:51Yeah, I think you'd have to go into the very specifics.

01:42:53I think that's what you're looking for, right?

01:42:55You're looking for the highest bidder

01:42:57because you want the least cost to the deposit insurance fund.

01:42:59Absolutely.

01:43:00That's the objective here.

01:43:01The objective is not about playing politics.

01:43:03It's not about whether or not we want a big bank to get bigger

01:43:05or whether we want someone in this market.

01:43:07It is what is best for the American people.

01:43:10It is to ensure that we don't want

01:43:13to have to dip into the diff at $20 billion.

01:43:16To me, Chair Gruenberg did a poor job

01:43:20and chose to play politics.

01:43:22And the American people paid the price.

01:43:24And it is your job not only, or his job,

01:43:27not only as the secondary supervisor,

01:43:30but also in his role at the FDIC,

01:43:32to ensure that these things don't happen.

01:43:34And when they do, though, it's not

01:43:35time to take a look and figure out

01:43:37what people on this committee may want you to do.

01:43:39You have to do what is best for the American people.

01:43:42So I'm glad to hear you say that you will do that as well.

01:43:45In taking a step back, obviously,

01:43:48there was poor internal risk management.

01:43:50And regulators clearly failed to do their job

01:43:53before the banks failed.

01:43:55There were numerous red flags that were missed.

01:43:58We've talked about that over and over again.

01:44:01Would you characterize, though, what

01:44:03happened as a capital or a liquidity issue with SVB?

01:44:08I think it's a failure in risk management,

01:44:09then a failure in supervision.

01:44:12Capital or liquidity?

01:44:14So I think the issue of liquidity

01:44:15becomes really important when a bank is going down,

01:44:18because short-term liquidity dries up so fast.

01:44:20And so then they can't continue.

01:44:21And then when you couple that with the bank runs,

01:44:24that's where you get into trouble.

01:44:25And last, I have a few.

01:44:27I think it was most definitely liquidity.

01:44:29But a couple of, lastly, do you think

01:44:32that 2155, the long-term debt proposal that

01:44:36is before you currently, or before FDIC currently,

01:44:40that it is properly adhering to the tailoring requirements

01:44:43in 2155?

01:44:44Thank you, Senator.

01:44:45I've seen your letter, which is pretty complex.

01:44:49And I'm still looking at the long-term debt proposal.

01:44:52And I want to look at the comments.

01:44:54OK, and that's fair.

01:44:55Let me ask you this, then.

01:44:56Do you agree, Chair Powell mentioned earlier this week

01:44:58that 2155 applies to all rulemaking out of your agency?

01:45:02Do you agree?

01:45:03100%.

01:45:04It's the law of the land.

01:45:05Thank you.

01:45:07Senator Butler from California is recognized.

01:45:10Thank you, Chairman Brown.

01:45:11I want to join my colleagues in just congratulating all of you

01:45:15for being nominated, celebrating your families

01:45:19for their sacrifices, for you all

01:45:21to achieve the level of success that

01:45:24has landed you at this table as a nomination of the President

01:45:28of the United States.

01:45:30It is no small feat.

01:45:33And it definitely takes the whole team.

01:45:36So thank you all for doing it.

01:45:40Ms. Goldsmith-Romero, thank you, Commissioner,

01:45:44for spending a little bit of time with me and my team

01:45:48extensively going through your credentials, experience,

01:45:53preparation, background.

01:45:55As has already been stated, taking

01:45:58on the role of FDIC Chair in this moment is no small task.

01:46:04And the godly report is quite substantive, in my opinion,

01:46:11and raises real concerns, not just

01:46:14about the culture of supervision and personnel policies at FDIC,

01:46:21but a real crisis in leadership.

01:46:24And so I want to ask just a very specific question.

01:46:26I feel like I was clear with Mr. Ruhenberg about the requirement

01:46:33to not just have a plan that sits

01:46:35on a shelf or a report that is nice that everyone reads when

01:46:41it's in the Wall Street Journal, but the leadership that

01:46:45is required to actually execute and turn things around.

01:46:50So a very simple question.

01:46:52What are the first three things that you

01:46:55will do if you are confirmed?

01:47:00Thank you, Senator.

01:47:02Very much appreciated our discussion.

01:47:04So the first thing I would do is send a clear message

01:47:07that harassment, discrimination, retaliation

01:47:10will not be tolerated.

01:47:13That includes putting a system in place

01:47:16that has an EEO process that employees could trust.

01:47:21Having everyone encourage employees

01:47:22to use that so that management can see that.

01:47:26I think we would be doing investigations,

01:47:28conducting investigations, bringing accountability.

01:47:30I think a number of things described in the report,

01:47:33warrants removals.

01:47:35And then I'd change this litigation adverse culture

01:47:39so that it's not kick the can down the road

01:47:41or move things around, but you address it right away.

01:47:46Thank you for the specific response.

01:47:49It's consistent very much with ideas

01:47:51that you shared with our team yesterday.

01:47:54And similar to Senator Warnock, I

01:47:57think this committee, through his subcommittee,

01:48:00but I do believe broadly through the leadership of our chair,

01:48:04is committed to being fully connected to the plan that

01:48:10is moving forward and applying appropriate levels

01:48:14of accountability from the seats in which we sit

01:48:17to be able to assist as much as possible, as much as is

01:48:22required, but I think most importantly,

01:48:24to be able to help to do our part to restore confidence

01:48:29with the employees at the FDIC and the work

01:48:31that you are going to be asked to do if you were confirmed.

01:48:35Mr. Ito, it was a pleasure to spend time with you yesterday.

01:48:41And your leadership on the island of Hawaii

01:48:45has just, I think, goes underappreciated

01:48:50as an insurance commissioner and just a public servant

01:48:54committed to the state.

01:48:57And it just was a great time talking with you

01:49:00and learning about your work and your perspective

01:49:02and what you would like to bring to FSOC if you were confirmed.

01:49:08Just a quick question, I wanted to make

01:49:11sure we had an opportunity to get

01:49:12your voice on the record here.

01:49:16We talked a good deal about local economies and the property

01:49:20insurance, the rising costs for consumers,

01:49:24and the concerns that insurers and bad years

01:49:30that insurers are having relative to climate impacts.

01:49:37I'd love for you to talk about how

01:49:39you believe FSOC and relevant government agencies,

01:49:43including insurance commissioners,

01:49:45should capture climate risk data and how

01:49:49we could measure the potential economic losses

01:49:52from the insurance market.

01:49:55First of all, Senator, I enjoyed our conversation the other day.

01:50:00With respect to getting data, the NEIC and FIO

01:50:05at the present time are collecting data

01:50:09on homeowners specifically.

01:50:13It's called a property and casualty market intelligence

01:50:16data call that NEIC and FIO are working through.

01:50:20And I'm glad that they are cooperating.

01:50:23I think this is a good first step in collecting data

01:50:26and identifying what stresses are occurring in the property

01:50:31and casualty market throughout the country.

01:50:35It is also, I believe, really a good first step

01:50:38in analyzing the data.

01:50:40If I'm confirmed, that's something

01:50:43I really want to get into in really analyzing and assessing

01:50:47what's happening in the entire United States marketplace

01:50:50on the property and casualty and the impact that's

01:50:53occurring not only to insurers on financial solvency,

01:50:57but I think more importantly in terms

01:50:59of what's happening to the people who are the policy

01:51:02holders are purchasing those policies.

01:51:06And being currently, I can attest for Hawaii,

01:51:09there's quite a bit of homeowners, condo owners

01:51:12that are really being financially stressed because

01:51:15of the catastrophic losses, the unfortunate event that

01:51:18happened in Maui, as well as the very hard market

01:51:20that we're in at the present time.

01:51:24Thanks, Senator Butler.

01:51:26Senator Lamas from Wyoming is recognized.

01:51:28Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

01:51:31Ms. Goldsmith-Romero, I'll start with you.

01:51:33Welcome.

01:51:34Thank you for coming to my office.

01:51:36And our conversation was very helpful.

01:51:40Should banks be able to hold the assets of digital asset

01:51:44companies?

01:51:46Thank you, Senator.

01:51:47I appreciated our conversation, too.

01:51:48Banks do hold custody of digital assets right now.

01:51:54And do you support that?

01:51:58Yes, I'm very familiar with banks

01:52:00holding custody of those assets.

01:52:02And it's another business like any other business.

01:52:07Should banks be able to provide services

01:52:10to digital asset companies like payment services?

01:52:14Yeah, I don't think it's the FDIC's role

01:52:16to tell banks what industries or companies they should

01:52:21be providing services to.

01:52:23I appreciate your answer, because otherwise we

01:52:27end up with concentration risk, regardless of whether we're

01:52:30talking about digital assets or oil and gas

01:52:33or any other banked industry.

01:52:39So I appreciate that.

01:52:42What's your action plan, the specific steps

01:52:45you would take to solve the management crisis that's

01:52:48going on at the FDIC?

01:52:51Thanks, Senator.

01:52:51And I know you care a lot about this, and we talked about this.

01:52:54And I talked about how the report reads

01:52:56like a bygone era, particularly for women and minorities

01:52:59and people in the LGBTQ community.

01:53:02It's going to take a lot.

01:53:03If confirmed, I'll give you my sort of top line thoughts.

01:53:06Modernize the federal workplace.

01:53:07Put in the best practices of federal workplace

01:53:11that I'm used to and like what I've led.

01:53:13I want to herald those employees who

01:53:14are doing the right thing and the managers who

01:53:16are doing the right thing.

01:53:17I would send a clear message that harassment,

01:53:19discrimination, retaliation is not allowed.

01:53:22That includes bringing accountability, investigations,

01:53:25and disciplinary proceedings.

01:53:28Put in place the process, the right process

01:53:30that I'm used to seeing for EEO, and encourage people

01:53:34to use it rather than have them live in fear.

01:53:36Change this litigation adverse culture,

01:53:40which just moves the problem around

01:53:42or kicks the can down the road, and address it right away.

01:53:47The error of each office being a fiefdom would end.

01:53:50It would not be 70 plus FDICs.

01:53:53It'd be one FDIC, just like I did at SIGTARP with one SIGTARP.

01:53:57And then we talked about, I have some plans

01:54:01I'm thinking about on that hotel.

01:54:03Thank you.

01:54:03And I thank you for your willingness

01:54:06to address it right away.

01:54:08I think it does need immediate attention.

01:54:10So thank you.

01:54:12Mr. Ito, welcome.

01:54:17Do you support implementation of the International Task

01:54:20Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures?

01:54:27Senator, thank you for the question.

01:54:31At the present time, I'm not a member of SOC.

01:54:34It's an issue that I would like to learn more about,

01:54:38or question what that is.

01:54:40And I'll be glad to meet with you and your staff.

01:54:44Good.

01:54:44I would like to meet with you about that.

01:54:47I'm a little bit concerned about taking away

01:54:50from the ability of states to do what's

01:54:53best in their local markets.

01:54:55And your Hawaiian market's very different from mine

01:54:59in the state of Wyoming.

01:55:01And I want to make sure that states' markets are tailored

01:55:08to the needs of those states.

01:55:10And tell me about your advocacy for states.

01:55:13So Senator, as being really a state regulator for almost,

01:55:19in five days, there'll be 31 years.

01:55:21You're the commissioner's commissioner, aren't you?

01:55:25I've been there and been through many different changes.

01:55:28State-based regulation, I think, has done an excellent job.

01:55:33My fellow state regulators, what we

01:55:35do in terms of monitoring and protecting the insurance

01:55:38market, as well as consumers.

01:55:40As you noted, each state has its own unique risks.

01:55:44I mean, Hawaii, we have catastrophe.

01:55:47We have volcano, tsunamis, hurricane, and wildfires.

01:55:53And every state is different.

01:55:55So there is a uniqueness in the states.

01:55:58As I mentioned, really, all my fellow commissioners,

01:56:02superintendents, have done an excellent job

01:56:05and will continue to do so.

01:56:07So one more question for you.

01:56:10The primary function of the council

01:56:12is to identify risks to financial stability, correct?

01:56:17Yes.

01:56:18So what do you consider to be the top risk

01:56:21to financial stability?

01:56:25As FSOC has identified in their 2023 annual report,

01:56:29there's a number of risks that could pose a threat

01:56:33to the financial stability.

01:56:35For me, one of the risks that Hawaii

01:56:39is living through right now is really

01:56:40on catastrophic risks and climate risks.

01:56:45The Maui wildfire resulted in $3.2 billion in insured losses.

01:56:52It has made the Hawaii market even harder.

01:56:56Tragically, there was a loss of 102 lives in Lahaina.

01:57:01And so with respect to climate risks,

01:57:03in the last four years in the US,

01:57:06there's been 20, on average, about 20 catastrophic losses

01:57:11over a billion dollars.

01:57:13Total loss of about four consecutive years

01:57:16of $100 billion in reinsurance loss.

01:57:18So that is an emergent risk that FSOC has identified.

01:57:24If unconfirmed, that is one area that I

01:57:27would be interested in really further analyzing what's

01:57:31happening with the property and casualty market

01:57:33and the stresses it's putting on the financial system.

01:57:37Thank you, Mr. Ito.

01:57:38My time is up.

01:57:39I do have a question for you, Ms. Johnson.

01:57:42But I will submit it for the record

01:57:45and would kindly ask for your written response.

01:57:49Thank you.

01:57:50Thank you all for your willingness

01:57:52to be considered for one of these appointments.

01:57:55Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

01:57:56Thank you, Senator Lewis, for your thoughtful questions.

01:57:59And I think Mr. Ito's response tells you

01:58:01the devastating impact of our unwillingness and inability

01:58:06in this body to do as much as we should

01:58:09addressing climate issues.

01:58:10But thank you for laying that out in insurance terms.

01:58:13Ms. Johnson, last question.

01:58:14I'm going to have fun, and then we'll adjourn.

01:58:18We continue to see significant risks to our financial system.

01:58:21We experienced three of the largest bank failures in US

01:58:23history after depositors lost confidence,

01:58:26withdrew their money at an unprecedented rate,

01:58:29as you remember.

01:58:30If confirmed, you'd have the critical job

01:58:31of identifying and protecting our financial system

01:58:34from these risks to ensure that hardworking Americans can

01:58:38keep their money and their jobs.

01:58:40Ms. Johnson, what do you see as the most prominent risk

01:58:44to our financial system, and how would you

01:58:45go about understanding and addressing them?

01:58:49Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman.

01:58:51As was referenced earlier, for the Department of Treasury,

01:58:55FSOC has outlined a number of vulnerabilities

01:58:58to financial services markets.

01:59:00These risks, as outlined, and as I mentioned

01:59:04in my opening statement, some of them are endogenous,

01:59:06some are exogenous, some are emerging risks

01:59:09that we've not yet had sufficient opportunity

01:59:12to effectively explore.

01:59:14I think among the risks that are most prevalent in the moment,

01:59:18we've discussed the climate risk and its potential impact

01:59:21on financial markets.

01:59:22I think cyber preparedness also presents

01:59:25as a significant question.

01:59:26And in fact, in the Treasury Department

01:59:29within the Office of the Assistant Secretary

01:59:31for Financial Institutions, a very recent report

01:59:34that looks at the intersectionality of cyber

01:59:36and AI effectively begins us down

01:59:39the road of a conversation to think carefully

01:59:41about how to address these concerns.

01:59:43I think you noted, rightly, with respect to SVB and SB,

01:59:48Signature Bank and their failures,

01:59:51not only risk management losses and general concerns

01:59:54regarding liquidity, but very expressly,

01:59:57the accelerated manner during which runs occurred

02:00:01at these banks, particularly with respect

02:00:05to communications over social media and the technology

02:00:11to facilitate expedient withdrawals, even over weekends,

02:00:15creates a need for us to think carefully

02:00:17about how we've integrated technology

02:00:19into the banking sector and how we rightfully

02:00:21will be able to protect the banking sector going forward

02:00:24in the context of crises and concerns

02:00:26like those we saw in March 2023.

02:00:29If confirmed, I would be grateful for the opportunity

02:00:31to work directly with your office

02:00:33and to engage with others on this committee

02:00:36with respect to those risks and others

02:00:37that you might identify.

02:00:39As we will, absolutely.

02:00:41Thank you to the four of you for being here.

02:00:44Thank you for your testimony and your concise,

02:00:47good answers to questions.

02:00:48I hope we can work together as a committee

02:00:50to move forward quickly in today's nominees.

02:00:52I emphasized how three of you have been in front of this

02:00:57and have had major, big confirmation votes,

02:01:00close to unanimity in some cases.

02:01:02Senators who wish to submit questions for the record,

02:01:04these are due at 5 p.m. Monday, the 15th of July.

02:01:08To the nominees, we'd like to have your responses

02:01:11on Friday, July 19th by 5 p.m.,

02:01:13so we need these more quickly than sometimes,

02:01:16so we hope to move as quickly as possible on all this.

02:01:19Thank you for your testimonies, the four of you today.

02:01:23The committee's adjourned.

Sherrod Brown Leads Senate Banking Committee's Consideration Of Key Nominees

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