Goldman sachs, wells fargo. Senate Banking Committee oversight hearing is about 3 hours. Senator scott, thank you for your work on this. The eight bank ceos appearing before us today lead the biggest global systematic banks in the United States of america. Your banks hold nearly 15 trillion in assets, manage trillions of dollars of investments and retirement accounts, fund the Biggest Companies in the country. You hold nearly half of the nations deposits, more than 80 trillion in client assets. Your banks touch almost every aspect of our Financial System in workingamericans money even if they are not your customers. You may be private companies but the mistakes you make dont just affect you, they dont even affect just your shareholders or just your workers, the mistakes you make affect the whole economy and as we remember from 2008, 2009 they can certainly affect american taxpayers. That amount of enormous power should also come with enormous responsibility. We finally have financial watchdogs in place who are now serious about the need for these protections. Common sense rules to ensurest that banks can withstand losses frombe the risky wrest financial shenanigans that create no value to the real economy. These rules protect against risky trading and derivative activity in wall street. If you waited at a bus stop in washington or flown out of International Airport you have probably seen ads urging people to stop and the eight of you surely know your audience and you havent stopped there. You even have Gone National in that campaign pouring money into ads for sunday night football. Campaign wage by your lobbyists to prevent financial watchdogs from putting in place these stronger Capital Requirements to protect our Banking System and our economy. Listening to these ads we hear all kinds of claims of how stronger rules will raise the cost of mortgages and stop Small Business from making loans. Wall street banks are actually saying that cracking down on them will, quote, hurt working families, really . Youre going the say that cracking down on wall street is going to hurt working families . You are really going to claim that . The economicac endeavor stationf 2008 is what hurt working families. Utah, minnesota, california, rhode island, montana and South Carolina, across the country didnt know if they could get access to their money and make payroll. Most americans think of banks capital if you force people to think about it at all. Most americans think money stashed in a vault somewhere. Capital is just a way to fund loans and investments and risky activity in a way that can absorb losses if things go south. Shareholders and investors are on the hook not taxpayers. Be clear. Nothing would stop banks to making loans to veterans, Small Businesses. Absolutely nothing. The reason banks might make fewer loans in the future is the same reason we have been seenless banking activity in years. On you know that, we all know that. Risky trading than boring bread and butter Small Business lending. In exchange, maybe, small executive, small executive bonuses less profit than wall street banks. What your banks want is to maximize early profits, we understand that. The cost to everything and everyone else be dammed. We have seen over and over what a problem that is and the harm the Current System does in place like ohio, earlier this year when i heard about spbs collapse, my mind immediately went to another crisis in my state in east palestine, ohio. The place wheree the Train Derailment happened and affected dramatic community in my state. Companies cut cost. Working people always pay the price andwe thats why people he wall street and thats why people hate washington because the lobbying campaigns worked. We saw when you passed doddfrank during financialal crisis. Now its half time. They chose to ignore those risks because it meant payout for executives at the time and we should be concerned when bigger banks are doing the same thing with Capital Requirements. Thats why we need to pay the bipartisan recoupin act, thank u senator scott for that to hold bank accountables for driving their banks into the ground. Thats why we need Strong Capital rules. After the failures we are reminded about how fragile our Banking System could be and as a result your banks only even got more powerful. Its fair to take stock how you are using that power. I appreciate the long overdue increases and wages, thank you for that. At least one of your banks is real has made real efforts to get rid of Overdraft Fees, thank you for that. But your banks need to do far better in meeting customers where they are. You should be cutting prices where consumers increasing opportunity for employees an increasing diversity with your executive rank andnd supporting efforts if they so choose to unionize. The reason for this hearing every year to hold the biggest banks accountable to the American Public. I thank each of you for being here. I appreciate you all coming for this hearing. We want to hear from you, what will you do to support workers to invest in the real economy to put wall street to work for main street. Senator scott. Thank you u for the long list of ceos who have come to talk with us about how the impacts of our Regulatory Environment will impact everyday consumers and i hope that you all, some of the things that i will say are redundant. Nothing many these proposals will stop your bankspe from lending to Small Businesses or firsttime home buyers. Who in america means bossle 3 . It is simply requiring more capital on the sidelines which means fewer dollars to lend to Small Businesses, firsttime home buyers and the actual impact for higher regulatory standard is fewer dollars to lend to americans who need desperately to be engaged in the process of achieving the American Dream that is typically defined by having access to capital, if you work really hard, keep your life in order, you can have a good quality middleclass life. Equity comes from having capital. Having capital means because you are born with it or have access to it because you have idea or vision that will make your community or this nation better. When that happens you go to a lending facility, we call a bank or a outside the market and you find that that capital that allows you to start your business and as you start your business and creates a profit and that profit allows you to experience the American Dream. If you have a home, look at the differences between africanamericans and majority population and net worth tenfold difference. Much of the difference is equity in a home. That would put much more capital on the sidelines, we should ask how does that translate for the average american livering and working paycheck to paycheck. My thought is, thats a devastating impact to access to capital that makes the American Dream harder to achieve and access to capital for some folks who started where i started virtually impossible. I want to talk about three things. The job the regulators should u be doing and workplace regulators cultivate. The fact of the matter is that thisto one proposal could have a devastating impact on Small Businesses and i would like for you to address that now or during questions. Last month i let a letter to the fdic said occ calling on them to withdraw this misguided proposal because American Families folks who will bear the burdensome regulations simply cant afford it. The letter signed by nearly 80 of the republican colleagues that span it is entire ideological spectrum and the country. Something that couldsi be avoidd simply the banking regulators would listen to common sense and withdraw the proposal and frankly last month when the regulators spoke, even some of mymy democrat colleagues agreed with our concerns on the negative impacts brought to us by burdensome Regulatory Environment. Let me be clear, this proposal could limit and frankly i think will limit the following. Availability of credit for housing for those who need it most, severely restrict lending for Small Businesses that are still rebounding from the pandemic and cut into the Retirement Savings for hardworking americans like teachers, police officers,re firefighters when they are dealing with higher prices and runpa away inflation brought by the radical left. These are very, very serious and real concerns but americans shouldnt just hear about the concerns from those of us who arent senators, we should hear it from those who actually run the institutions that they have and have confidence in. As formers Business Owner mysef i believe that you all as the daytoday operators of these businesses, not elected officials have a better sense of what the communities are facing the challenges brought upon the communities by these higher standards. Last year barr last month said that the new bossle end game will only impact 40 of the banks in our country. Twothirds of all the loans processed will be negatively impacted by the end game proposal. Thats 60 billion in Small Business loans in 2021, e 250 billion negatively impacd and the definition of negative, higher Interest Rates or fewer loans. In 2022, in my own state of South Carolina, that translates into 550 million having fewer loans and 3 billion in 2022 and Home Mortgage originations. Decrease lending means increase Financial Hardship and increase Financial Hardship means a reduction in opportunity. Thats my ultimate concern, reducing opportunity for every day americans. At the end of the day, these consequences will create a ceiling for lowincome americans and it wont be a ceiling made of glass, instead it will be made of concrete. We simply cant let that happen. The second item i want to discuss withbe you all today concerns onslaught of rules and proposals targeting your institutions and thepl Banking System at large. In recent months we have seen proposals or final rules all the way from Climate Risk Management to the Community Reinvestment act. None of the proposals exist in a vacuum. L you should. Its called common sense. And remains incumbent upon each of you to base lending decisions on risks you can reasonably assess like weather or credit risk, not, however, perceived political, rhetorical or Reputational Risk beyond explicit cost passed onto the consumers. Finally, number 3, we must emphasize and turn our attention to the performance of our regulators and their core mission, the supervision of your banks and the stability of our financial economy. Just last spring we saw the failures of several banks which shook consumer confidence. Since then the, theres been nonstop finger pointing by our regulators and the aftermath of failures i was critical of the failed Bank Executives because thats where the dollar should stop. The buck stops with the executives. But you cant see that in a vacuum, you have to ask yourself the question, what was the role of the regulators, what do they do, what do they see, how do they respond to that . Your institutions have teams of examiners from the regulatory agencies in your offices every day and i can tell by your voices youre really excited to see them when you show up but the truth is that we, the American People, deserve to understand the complexity of the web that exist that makes the headwinds real for lending money to wouldbe entrepreneurs or firsttime home buyers. Let me close with this. Were not on the same page on a lot ofy issues. I think there are times where banks goo too the far in getting involved in politics. But when it comes to your objective of creating access to create, to resources for the American People and the American Dream, thats where i hope you find our attention today, focusing on an environment that is easier for the average american to experience the American Dream or is made harder because of the challenges brought to them by this government. Thank you, senator scott. I would like to introduce our eight witnesses andam then im going to ask each to stand and raise your right hand and swear you in. Ceo and president of wells fargo, welcome. Bank of america welcome. Jerry chen, ceo of jpmorgan chase, welcome. Ceo of citigroup, welcome. Ceo of state street, welcome to. Robert, ceo of ny mellon. And thank you for joining us, Robert Mellon of golden stocks. And morgan stanley. Please stand for a moment and raise your right hand. Do you swear, or affirm that the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you god . Thank you, take your seat, and mr. Scharf . Thank you, mr. Brown, and the committee, thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I look forward to talking with you about the contributions wells fargo is making to support our customers, communities, employees, and to ensure the Banking System is strong and resilient. In march of this year, we also the failure of several banks rapidly create instability in certain parts of the Banking Sector. Though the causes were specific to the institutions that failed, markets became concerned that the issues were broader, in response, wells fargo, along with other banks here today stood as a source of strength and stability. The strength of our institution allowed us to lend support in a time of need. This helped stabilize the system, ease concerned. And keep a challenge from becoming a much broader crisis, i am proud of the role we were able to play. Wells fargos strength comes from Strong Financial profile, disciplined financial risk management, and a commitment to run our business with high standards. Our top priority continues to be building and running a well controlled company. Over the past four years, we have simplified our Business Model and have exited or downsized several businesses. We are primarily a u. S. Domestic bank and we do not have many complexities that are running in largescale business banks. A legal entity structure and footprint are far simpler than many competitors. Proximately 90 of our revenues come from the United States. We proudly serve 13 u. S. Households and more than 10 of Small Businesses in the u. S. We are leading middle Market Banking provider here. We maintain one of the largest French Networks in the nation and we have more rural branches than any other large bank. Nearly 30 of our branches are in low or moderate income census tracts. We are constantly improving how we serve our customers and communities. We are investing in our branches, Building Digital capabilities to complement our physical presence and we are investing in the products we offer to our customers. Since 2019, we have taken numerous steps to reduce and simplify fees, which, as of yearend 2022 have resulted in an average consumer deposit count paying approximately 25 less in fees per year. We give customers the choice of account that offers overdraft protection or one that is not subject to Overdraft Fees. We eliminated Nonsufficient Fund Fees and transfer fees for customers enrolled in overdraft protection. We introduced early payday, which makes eligible direct deposits available up to two days early. Extra day grace, which gives eligible customers an additional business day to make deposits to avoid Overdraft Fees, and flex loan, a new digital only small dollar loan. I am also proud of the role we play in our communities, where we seek to have brought impact. Last year, people who work at wells fargo contributed over 700,000 hours of volunteer service. I have spoken in the past of our decision to take the 420 million in fees we received from administering the ppp program and donating them through local partners to Small Businesses in need. Through the first half of 2023, these funds of have helped support 203,000 Small Businesses, the majority of them diverse owned, and helped preserve or create nearly 254,000 jobs. Finally, we believe our employees are our greatest asset. We invested them and we listen to them. Since 2019 we have increased wages for u. S. Hourly employees by nearly 20 and increase the average pay rate for tellers, by 34 . In 2022 we increase the minimum base pay for more than 40,000 please and we invested in an additional 200 million employee development. We have several ways for employees to share ideas or voice concerns. Their voice matters. We take their feedback seriously and we act on their c