Dems call for hearing on NY Fed

Top Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee called Tuesday for a hearing into if the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) has been tough enough against big banks.

{mosads}Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the committee’s top Democrat, and Reps. Al Green (D-Texas) and Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) wrote to Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) urging him to hold the hearing.

They cite a Friday ProPublica story on Friday that reported that the New York bank — which plays a significant role in regulating Wall Street — has been engaging in lax supervision.

“The article raises important questions… and [it] suggests that additional scrutiny is needed to ensure that management practices and workplace culture at the FRBNY do not serve to undermine the effectiveness and integrity of the FRBNY’s supervision of the financial institutions under its purview,” the lawmakers wrote to Hensarling, as well as Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), who chairs the subcommittee on investigations.

Hensarling and McHenry could not be immediately reached for comment.