Who’s afraid of Sherrod Brown? Big banks are

http://www.salon.com/2014/10/02/who%E2%80%99s_afraid_of_sherrod_brown_big_banks_are/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

Thursday, Oct 2, 2014 12:49 PM EST
Who’s afraid of Sherrod Brown? Big banks are
The progressive populist could soon become Wall Street's leading antagonist. Why that has them trembling
Luke Brinker

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If Democrats hang on, meanwhile, they won’t have the numbers (or a Democratic House) to pass the kinds of sweeping legislation that defined the Democratic Congress of President Obama’s first two years, but they will maintain control of the legislative agenda. And retaining power in the chamber would mean keeping control of the gavels on Senate committees, which not only move legislation but conduct vital investigations.

Enter Democratic Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown. The Rust Belt populist isn’t exactly a household name, but if Democrats keep Senate power, he’s likely to become chairman of the crucial Senate Banking Committee. And that has Wall Street quivering in its boots.

Wall Street, of course, is doing all it can to stave off this possibility. Today’s Washington Post details the financial industry’s heavy investment in a GOP-led Senate this year. Wall Street wants to pare back regulations in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Law, and while the industry boasts no shortage of Democratic allies in Congress, it knows that a GOP Senate would be most receptive to its deregulatory agenda. That agenda would get a big assist from the industry-backed Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, who would chair the Banking Committee if Republicans win Senate power.

A Brown-led Banking Committee, on the other hand, is a “frightening” prospect for finance types, as one bank executive told the Post.

What’s so scary about the gravelly-voiced solon? For starters, Brown, unlike Shelby, is a steadfast supporter of fellow progressive populist Elizabeth Warren’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a major target of Wall Street ire. More controversially, Brown has proposed breaking up too-big-to-fail banks, calling for much tougher action toward reining in Wall Street than some in his party, like President Obama, are prepared to support. Brown hasn’t hesitated to take his Obama administration critics on, saying that they’re “wrong” and that while Dodd-Frank was an important step, it was inadequate in addressing the causes of the 2008 financial meltdown.

Under Brown’s proposal – on which he teamed up with conservative Louisiana Republican David Vitter – banks would be required to maintain a 15 percent equity-to-assets ratio, a way of reducing the risk that large financial institutions would require taxpayer bailouts in the event of a financial downturn. Securities analysts have taken note, warning clients that Wall Street will have a less-than-friendly face leading the Banking Committee if the Democrats keep the Senate.

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http://www.salon.com/2014/10/02/who%E2%80%99s_afraid_of_sherrod_brown_big_banks_are/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow