With White House In Their Sights, Democrats Challenge Wall Street

Washington, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Apr, 2019 ) :On the campaign trail and in Congress, Democrats are challenging the titans of Wall Street, proclaiming a "new day" as they seek to channel the anger of their party and voters that has raged since the financial crisis.

CEOs of America's biggest banks were summoned for the first time since the 2008 crisis by a congressional committee on Wednesday, raising their hands as they swore their oaths ahead of their testimony.

It was a powerful image that underscored the recent change in control of the House of Representatives, which came under Democratic control in January after eight years of Republican rule.

"This is a new way and it's a new day," said Maxine Waters, the first woman and first African American to chair the powerful House Financial Services Committee.

Tim Sloan, the former CEO of Wells Fargo, testified at a previous hearing in March.

This time, it was the turn of the heads of Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase & Co, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, State Street Corporation, BNY Mellon and Goldman Sachs.

Waters had previously tangled with some of them at the peak of the crisis, when the global financial system was imperiled.

The current round of cross-examinations has less to do with the stabilization of the financial system and more the social impact of Wall Street.

"You, captains of the universe, are smart enough and creative enough and understand this business enough to see what you can do about these citizens, these young people," said Waters.

Some of the Democrats on the committee have focused on spotlighting the gap between these executives, all male, white and fabulously wealthy, and the rest of society -- a tactic criticized by the panel's ranking Republican as headline-seeking.

In one probing exchange, Nydia Velazquez, a Democrat of New York, pressed Citigroup Chief Executive Michael Corbat to justify his 2018 pay of $24.2 million, an estimated 486 times that of the average employee.

Corbat said his pay was set by the board of directors and that, if he were an average employee who observed the yawning gap, "I would be hopeful that there's the opportunity to continue to advance.""This is why people who live in a bubble and in an ivory tower cannot understand the anger out there, especially among millennials," Velasquez shot back.