The Mellowing of Maxine Waters
OVER her 22 years in Congress, Maxine Waters has likened bank executives to “gangsters,” snarkily addressed them as “captains of the universe” and threatened to tax their companies “out of business.”
The Democrat from Los Angeles, in other words, is not known for showing love to the financial industry.
So in March, when she visited a group of community bankers in a conservative corner of her district, she seemed ready for a chilly reception. “Let’s see what these guys have to say for themselves,” Ms. Waters said with a smirk as she emerged from her S.U.V.
Escorted to a private conference room at Malaga Bank, Ms. Waters grabbed a seat at the head of the table. A dozen or so bankers shuffled in, each armed with a tale of woe about the Dodd-Frank banking overhaul passed by Congress in the aftermath of the financial crisis.
The law is too tough, they groaned. Its capital requirements are too steep. One banker’s voice quivered as she described a regulatory examination of her bank. Another griped about regulators overstepping their bounds: “They can tell you how many pens and pencils we have in our drawers!”
In the past, such grumbling might have set off Ms. Waters’s famous hair-trigger temper. But with each complaint, she leaned in for more, nodding appreciatively. “We’ve heard they chase down silly stuff,” Ms. Waters said, referring to regulators and shaking her head in disapproval. “I’m willing to take a hit” to help lower the capital requirements, she said. She even suggested the bankers hire new lobbyists to better represent them. “Influence us,” Ms. Waters said softly, reminding them of her new role as the ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee. “Help us understand the intricacies of your business.”
This was not “kerosene Maxine,” the nickname Ms. Waters has earned for her tendency to hurl flammable remarks. (Exhibit A: She once screamed onstage in Los Angeles that “The Tea Party can go straight to hell, and I intend to help them get there.”) Rather, she was all empathy, vowing to use her new sway in Washington to protect the bankers’ interests. “You have a lot of good will right now,” she said. As for Dodd-Frank, Ms. Waters said she stood ready to defend the law, but also instructed the bankers to compile a “laundry list” of their concerns. “I don’t want you to look at this as being impossible to tweak,” she said.
full: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/12/business/in-house-maxine-waters-takes-new-tack-on-banks.html?pagewanted=all
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