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U.S. Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle Bowman attends a "Fed Listens" event at the Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington, D.C., on October 4, 2019.
"At a time when climate-related financial risks are only growing, the Fed should be stepping up to protect the economy—not retreating," said the head of the Sierra Club's sustainable finance campaign.
The watchdog group Public Citizen is warning that the U.S. President Donald Trump's pick to serve as in the Federal Reserve's stop supervisory role is a "banking industry favorite."
On Monday, Trump tapped Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle Bowman to take over as the new vice chair of supervision. Bowman must be confirmed by the Senate before taking the role, which was created by the Dodd-Frank Act in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis in order to develop policy recommendations for the Fed's Board of Governors around supervision and regulation.
Michael Barr, who was vice chair of supervision from July 2022 until earlier this year, stepped down from the role in February but remains a member of the Board of Governors.
"Bowman's nomination for vice chair for supervision is a gift to the banking industry," said Elyse Schupak, policy advocate with Public Citizen's climate program, in a statement on Tuesday. "Under her leadership we can expect loosening capital requirements, lax bank supervision, and neglect of emerging risks to the financial system, including from climate change."
According to Bloomberg, Bowman is expected to take a "lighter touch" to bank regulation compared to Barr.
Bowman, the former state bank commissioner of Kansas and former VP of Farmers & Drovers Bank in Kansas, has been a critic of a landmark plan to require banks to hold more capital. The plan, called "Basel III Endgame," is opposed by big banks that are lobbying against it, according to the think tank the Brookings Institution.
"I'd be excited to see Miki Bowman appointed," Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon told Fox News last week, after her likely appointment was reported by multiple outlets. "I think the industry would be excited."
Ben Cushing, director of the Sierra Club's sustainable finance campaign, also weighed in on the selection of Bowman.
"Major U.S. banks are exacerbating threats to financial stability and long-term economic growth through their continued financing of dirty energy and insufficient investment in clean energy. Regardless of changing political winds, the Federal Reserve has a duty to supervise and regulate these and other risky banking practices," Cushing said in a statement on Wednesday.
"At a time when climate-related financial risks are only growing, the Fed should be stepping up to protect the economy—not retreating under political pressure from climate deniers and Wall Street," he added.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
The watchdog group Public Citizen is warning that the U.S. President Donald Trump's pick to serve as in the Federal Reserve's stop supervisory role is a "banking industry favorite."
On Monday, Trump tapped Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle Bowman to take over as the new vice chair of supervision. Bowman must be confirmed by the Senate before taking the role, which was created by the Dodd-Frank Act in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis in order to develop policy recommendations for the Fed's Board of Governors around supervision and regulation.
Michael Barr, who was vice chair of supervision from July 2022 until earlier this year, stepped down from the role in February but remains a member of the Board of Governors.
"Bowman's nomination for vice chair for supervision is a gift to the banking industry," said Elyse Schupak, policy advocate with Public Citizen's climate program, in a statement on Tuesday. "Under her leadership we can expect loosening capital requirements, lax bank supervision, and neglect of emerging risks to the financial system, including from climate change."
According to Bloomberg, Bowman is expected to take a "lighter touch" to bank regulation compared to Barr.
Bowman, the former state bank commissioner of Kansas and former VP of Farmers & Drovers Bank in Kansas, has been a critic of a landmark plan to require banks to hold more capital. The plan, called "Basel III Endgame," is opposed by big banks that are lobbying against it, according to the think tank the Brookings Institution.
"I'd be excited to see Miki Bowman appointed," Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon told Fox News last week, after her likely appointment was reported by multiple outlets. "I think the industry would be excited."
Ben Cushing, director of the Sierra Club's sustainable finance campaign, also weighed in on the selection of Bowman.
"Major U.S. banks are exacerbating threats to financial stability and long-term economic growth through their continued financing of dirty energy and insufficient investment in clean energy. Regardless of changing political winds, the Federal Reserve has a duty to supervise and regulate these and other risky banking practices," Cushing said in a statement on Wednesday.
"At a time when climate-related financial risks are only growing, the Fed should be stepping up to protect the economy—not retreating under political pressure from climate deniers and Wall Street," he added.
The watchdog group Public Citizen is warning that the U.S. President Donald Trump's pick to serve as in the Federal Reserve's stop supervisory role is a "banking industry favorite."
On Monday, Trump tapped Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle Bowman to take over as the new vice chair of supervision. Bowman must be confirmed by the Senate before taking the role, which was created by the Dodd-Frank Act in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis in order to develop policy recommendations for the Fed's Board of Governors around supervision and regulation.
Michael Barr, who was vice chair of supervision from July 2022 until earlier this year, stepped down from the role in February but remains a member of the Board of Governors.
"Bowman's nomination for vice chair for supervision is a gift to the banking industry," said Elyse Schupak, policy advocate with Public Citizen's climate program, in a statement on Tuesday. "Under her leadership we can expect loosening capital requirements, lax bank supervision, and neglect of emerging risks to the financial system, including from climate change."
According to Bloomberg, Bowman is expected to take a "lighter touch" to bank regulation compared to Barr.
Bowman, the former state bank commissioner of Kansas and former VP of Farmers & Drovers Bank in Kansas, has been a critic of a landmark plan to require banks to hold more capital. The plan, called "Basel III Endgame," is opposed by big banks that are lobbying against it, according to the think tank the Brookings Institution.
"I'd be excited to see Miki Bowman appointed," Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon told Fox News last week, after her likely appointment was reported by multiple outlets. "I think the industry would be excited."
Ben Cushing, director of the Sierra Club's sustainable finance campaign, also weighed in on the selection of Bowman.
"Major U.S. banks are exacerbating threats to financial stability and long-term economic growth through their continued financing of dirty energy and insufficient investment in clean energy. Regardless of changing political winds, the Federal Reserve has a duty to supervise and regulate these and other risky banking practices," Cushing said in a statement on Wednesday.
"At a time when climate-related financial risks are only growing, the Fed should be stepping up to protect the economy—not retreating under political pressure from climate deniers and Wall Street," he added.