SOONER44EVER
11/28/2010, 12:58 PM
Why don't they just fess up and admit the bank owns them?
http://newsok.com/consumer-advocate-has-met-more-often-with-industry/article/3518571
Consumer advocate has met more often with industry
WASHINGTON — Elizabeth Warren, the administration's special adviser on consumer issues, is getting a lot of criticism from Republicans for being too close to consumer groups. But in her first six weeks on the job, she met more often with representatives of the country's major financial companies.
Consumer advocate has met more often with industry According to appointment calendars released by the Oklahoma native's office last week, Warren has been busy meeting with leaders of some of the country's largest banks and trade groups representing key sectors of the financial industry.
The calendars showed her meetings after she took office as the administration's special adviser leading the effort to set up the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Warren's meetings included sessions with Jamie Dimon, head of JPMorgan Chase & Co., Vikram Pandit, the head of Citigroup Inc. and various other senior executives from such financial giants as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, American Express Co. and Wells Fargo & Co.
Warren also visited with major industry lobbying groups such as the Financial Services Roundtable, the American Bankers Association and the Independent Community Bankers Association.
While she also found time to meet with consumer organizations such as the Consumer Federation of America, her appointment calendars show many more meetings during her first six weeks from Sept. 20 to Nov. 2 with industry representatives.
A lot of her time was also taken up making the rounds of television interview programs to talk about the new agency.
The release of Warren's schedule is part of the administration's effort to provide greater transparency as it implements legislation passed by Congress last summer to overhaul the way the government regulates the financial industry.
The Treasury Department earlier this month said it was adopting a policy where it will disclose all meetings between Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other top department officials, including Warren, as they move to set up the new consumer protection bureau and implement other changes required by the legislation.
Under the new procedures, Treasury will post the dates of meetings between government and industry officials and the topics discussed. The postings will be made with a one-month lag with the first information, covering November, due to be posted on Dec. 31.
Geithner came under criticism in 2009 when his appointment calendars, obtained by The Associated Press under a Freedom of Information Act request, showed that he had had at least 80 contacts with the top executives of Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Citigroup in the first seven months of his tenure, giving those three companies extraordinary influence at key moments in the financial crisis.
Peter Jackson, a spokesman for Warren, said she wanted to release details of her activities to provide the public with a complete record of how she has been spending her time.
The release came two days after Republicans sent letters to Treasury and the Federal Reserve seeking information on how the two agencies were proceeding in setting up the new consumer bureau.
Once it is fully operational on July 21, the bureau will be housed at the Federal Reserve, but Treasury has the primary responsibility for getting the agency up and running.
Rep. Spencer Bachus, who is the leading contender to become chairman of the House Financial Services Committee once Republicans take control of the House in January, and Rep. Judy Biggert, the top Republican on the panel's oversight subcommittee, asked Treasury and the Fed for reports by Jan. 10 on how the process for creating the new agency is being handled.
House Republicans fought creation of the consumer bureau, which will have the power to write rules for mortgages, credit cards and other financial products. They argued that the new agency would represent an undue burden on financial companies and drive up the cost of credit.
Warren, a former Harvard law professor, has been a leading advocate for the consumer agency since 2006.
http://newsok.com/consumer-advocate-has-met-more-often-with-industry/article/3518571
Consumer advocate has met more often with industry
WASHINGTON — Elizabeth Warren, the administration's special adviser on consumer issues, is getting a lot of criticism from Republicans for being too close to consumer groups. But in her first six weeks on the job, she met more often with representatives of the country's major financial companies.
Consumer advocate has met more often with industry According to appointment calendars released by the Oklahoma native's office last week, Warren has been busy meeting with leaders of some of the country's largest banks and trade groups representing key sectors of the financial industry.
The calendars showed her meetings after she took office as the administration's special adviser leading the effort to set up the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Warren's meetings included sessions with Jamie Dimon, head of JPMorgan Chase & Co., Vikram Pandit, the head of Citigroup Inc. and various other senior executives from such financial giants as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, American Express Co. and Wells Fargo & Co.
Warren also visited with major industry lobbying groups such as the Financial Services Roundtable, the American Bankers Association and the Independent Community Bankers Association.
While she also found time to meet with consumer organizations such as the Consumer Federation of America, her appointment calendars show many more meetings during her first six weeks from Sept. 20 to Nov. 2 with industry representatives.
A lot of her time was also taken up making the rounds of television interview programs to talk about the new agency.
The release of Warren's schedule is part of the administration's effort to provide greater transparency as it implements legislation passed by Congress last summer to overhaul the way the government regulates the financial industry.
The Treasury Department earlier this month said it was adopting a policy where it will disclose all meetings between Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other top department officials, including Warren, as they move to set up the new consumer protection bureau and implement other changes required by the legislation.
Under the new procedures, Treasury will post the dates of meetings between government and industry officials and the topics discussed. The postings will be made with a one-month lag with the first information, covering November, due to be posted on Dec. 31.
Geithner came under criticism in 2009 when his appointment calendars, obtained by The Associated Press under a Freedom of Information Act request, showed that he had had at least 80 contacts with the top executives of Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Citigroup in the first seven months of his tenure, giving those three companies extraordinary influence at key moments in the financial crisis.
Peter Jackson, a spokesman for Warren, said she wanted to release details of her activities to provide the public with a complete record of how she has been spending her time.
The release came two days after Republicans sent letters to Treasury and the Federal Reserve seeking information on how the two agencies were proceeding in setting up the new consumer bureau.
Once it is fully operational on July 21, the bureau will be housed at the Federal Reserve, but Treasury has the primary responsibility for getting the agency up and running.
Rep. Spencer Bachus, who is the leading contender to become chairman of the House Financial Services Committee once Republicans take control of the House in January, and Rep. Judy Biggert, the top Republican on the panel's oversight subcommittee, asked Treasury and the Fed for reports by Jan. 10 on how the process for creating the new agency is being handled.
House Republicans fought creation of the consumer bureau, which will have the power to write rules for mortgages, credit cards and other financial products. They argued that the new agency would represent an undue burden on financial companies and drive up the cost of credit.
Warren, a former Harvard law professor, has been a leading advocate for the consumer agency since 2006.