Watch Elizabeth Warren Put a Banker in His Place — And Another Banker Applaud Her for It
It’s nothing new to watch Sen. Elizabeth Warren hand a banker his ass during a committee hearing, as she does here:
What’s unusual about this particular hearing occurs about 15 seconds before the end, when someone off camera applauds. Why unusual? Because according to The Huffington Post, the person clapping is another banker, John H. Buhrmaster, the chairman of the Independent Community Bankers of America.
He was applauding because Warren was grilling R. Dan Blanton, testifying on behalf of the American Bankers Association, over regulations the ABA has proposed that they claim would benefit community banks. The regulations — actually “deregulations,” since they would overturn part of the Dodd-Frank rules — wouldn’t actually apply to many mortgages held by community banks, since they are already exempt under the current rules (as well as proposed new ones from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that would exempt even some larger community banks).
Warren pointed out that the vast majority of the benefits would go to big banks like Wells Fargo and Citibank, and that community banks have in fact become more profitable since the Dodd-Frank rules went into effect.
Big business associations like the ABA do this all the time. They always claim they’re speaking for small businesses, Mom and Pop shops lining the Main Streets of small-town America. But these organizations are funded by the big corporations, and that’s who they truly represent. So when Warren spoke up for the community banks, it’s no surprise that the person in the audience who actually works for community banks applauded her.
H/T: The Huffington Post
Jesse Berney is senior editor of BNR and stand-up comedian in Washington, DC. Follow him on Twitter: @jesseberney
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