Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called on regulators yesterday to be tougher on U.S. banks, asking them to prevent dominant institutions from getting even bigger through mergers of smaller rivals, YahooFinance.com reported. “We have a system in place for bank regulators to block mergers that would be bad for the economy,” Warren said at a Better Markets conference marking the 15th anniversary of the fall of Wall Street giant Lehman Brothers in 2008. "We just have to remind the regulators of their responsibilities and hold their feet to the fire when they ignore them." Warren on Wednesday specifically called out Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu for being open to more bank mergers. “Despite all that we have learned since 2008 and despite President Biden ordering regulators to update merger guidelines, Acting Controller Hsu and Treasury Secretary Yellen have still signaled openness to more mergers,” said Warren. Several big bank CEOs this week are also pushing back against regulators for another reason, saying they are going too far. Specifically, they cited new proposed capital rules they claim would restrict lending and pose a danger to the US economy.
