Chairman Tim Scott of South Carolina convened a roundtable discussion with Senate Banking Republicans and leaders from major consumer banks to address concerns surrounding debanking and regulatory issues. The meeting took place in Washington, D.C., focusing on the challenges faced by financial institutions.
During the discussion, Chairman Scott expressed his concern about the debanking of Americans, stating, "The debanking of Americans should concern everyone – law-abiding citizens and federally legal businesses deserve access to financial services – regardless of industry or political affiliation." He emphasized the need for regulatory reforms to tackle this issue, pointing out that regulators have overreached on matters such as Basel III and debanking. Scott stressed the importance of Congress working to mitigate what he described as burdensome regulations imposed by the Biden administration.
As leader of the Senate Banking Committee, Chairman Scott has prioritized addressing debanking. In his first legislative hearing of the year, he hosted witnesses who shared their experiences with being debanked. At this hearing, Scott criticized financial regulators for pressuring institutions to deny services to certain individuals and businesses. He committed to finding solutions through the committee's efforts.
Furthermore, during a committee hearing with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, Chairman Scott reiterated concerns about debanking practices affecting federally legal businesses and law-abiding citizens. Chair Powell pledged cooperation with the committee to address these issues.