LA Times: Republicans say there’s another villain in the Wells Fargo scandal

by Jeff Sovern

Here.  The article reports GOP criticism of the CFPB in connection with the Wells scandal. Excerpt:

“Why does it take the L.A. Times to break this story, when we’re paying federal investigators to investigate?” [House Financial Services Committee Chair Jeb] Hensarling recently told Fox Business Network.

“Where was the CFPB? Why did they come in so late to the game?” he continued. “They have immense powers and this is their job to enforce these basic consumer laws and it appears they were asleep at the switch.”

Hensarling also has criticized regulators for the $185-million settlement with the bank, which allowed Wells Fargo to avoid admitting any wrongdoing.

 * * *

Democrats and consumer advocates said that the recent settlement Wells Fargo agreed to pay  — including a $100-million fine by the CFPB, the agency’s biggest ever — shows the value of the bureau in holding banks accountable for abusing consumers.

And for that reason, those supporters say Republicans, and Hensarling in particular, are hypocrites for trying to use the Wells Fargo scandal to reduce the bureau’s power.

“Hensarling reminds me of the kid who kills his parents and then wants to collect orphan benefits,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), one of the CFPB’s biggest backers. “He’s tried to underfund it. He’s tried to undercut. He’s done all he could to  block bank regulations.”

Never mind that the CFPB knew about the problem before the LA Times story.  Will Hensarling also attack law enforcement for the fact that we still have bank robberies and murders despite centuries of efforts to stop them?  Does he also blame the Bush administration for 9/11?

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