WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two Ohio lawmakers from opposite ends of the political spectrum got to question the top CEOs on Wall Street this week, highlighting two very different approaches to regulating the big banks.
What You Need To Know
- Ohio’s Sen. Brown and Rep. Davidson questioned Wall Street’s top CEOs in separate hearings
- Brown wants big banks to “reexamine their whole business model”
- Davidson urged the CEOs to resist pressure to embrace social issues
- The hearings made clear why legislative solutions struggle to be achieved
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) chairs the Senate Banking Committee and is a fierce critic of Wall Street, while Rep. Warren Davidson (R, OH-8) is a staunch conservative who sits on the House Financial Services Committee.
Both men spend a lot of time focusing on the economy and the institutions that make it run.
This week, in separate hearings, they got a chance to bring their concerns directly to the CEOs of America’s six largest banks.
Brown accused Wall Street of treating workers unfairly.
“I want them to reexamine their whole business model,” Brown said in an interview after the hearing.
Davidson urged the CEOs to resist pressure to have their banks embrace social issues.
“Democrats are essentially saying, we’re going to bludgeon you with regulation and public shaming if you don’t conform,” Davidson said in a separate interview after his hearing.
Both lawmakers put on full display the political divide over how Wall Street should operate and what role the federal government should play in regulating it.
Davidson said he wants Wall Street to be less complex and more accessible to consumers.
He’s a cryptocurrency supporter and wants to avoid another mishap like the recent GameStop stock saga that shutout amateur investors.
“I think Wall Street needs to make sure that small investors have access to participate,” Davidson said.
Brown is using his new chairmanship to pressure the big banks to pay their workers more and become more diverse.
“They don’t care what I think personally,” Brown said. “They care about the light we’re shining on them because they know they built this system for themselves at the expense of workers.”
There isn’t much agreement between Brown and Davidson — or between their parties — on legislative solutions.
So for now, Congress will remain a platform to highlight their opposing views.
