Warren's Oversight Panel: First Report Out; Republicans Already Squawking

Surprise! The initial report by Elizabeth Warren’s TARP oversight panel, out yesterday, is not a product of bipartisan harmony:

While the findings are likely to further inflame critics of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s efforts to unfreeze credit markets, they have split the oversight panel along party lines, raising concerns about the group’s legitimacy and effectiveness. Paulson is under fire for abandoning his original plan to buy toxic mortgage assets, instead using most of the funds for boosting capital in banks.

Representative Jeb Hensarling of Texas, the lone Republican appointee on the four-member oversight committee, issued a statement saying he voted against the report. “The jury is still out” on whether the panel “will eventually be an effective vehicle” for monitoring the Troubled Asset Relief Program, Hensarling said yesterday. [Emph. added]

Reminder: Elizabeth Warren is no friend of the banking industry. For our take on her (skeptical), and the likelihood that her oversight group will prove useful (low), click here.

Comments

[Dr Robert Lahm:]

Regarding the observation that Professor Warren is "no friend of the banking industry," after reading responses from banks in an Associated Press article, the banking industry appears to be in complete control of taxpayers' "bail out" money, feeling no obligation to explain how that money is being spent. I'm not sure about linking in your site's comment box, but I have written a more detailed response to the aforementioned article on my (ChangeinTerms dot com) site, posted January 2, 2009, with the title, "Your bail out money. Banks won’t say where it went."

Being on the receiving end of some rather outrageous treatment by Chase (which was quoted to reply as follows to the question of how money is being spent: "We’re declining to [answer]."), I'd have to say that the banking industry has way too many friends (among elected representatives and regulators) and is in need of oversight. The banking industry under present regulatory systems, after all, did bring us where we are today: "Obviously a major malfunction."

Jan 02 11:36 AM

[jdr:]

We have been preparing a junket for Wells Fargo. We are not employed with Wells Fargo nor the lady we prepare the luggage tags for. I raised my eyebrow when I heard Wells Fargo had extended their hand for Tarp money. Now we have been instructed to remove the name Wells Fargo for their planned trip to NYC. It seems odd to me since I am pretty sure it's not a business meeting or strategy meeting. Only one VIP & wife are listed and one person who has only been there 3 months. Something seems rotten in the banking barrel.

Feb 06 08:10 PM