New chairman of subcommittee on financial institutions supports cannabis banking

In an announcement from Patrick McHenry (R-NC), the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, a new chairman for the newly renamed Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy was shared.

Representative Andy Barr, a Republican from Kentucky’s 6th district, was chosen to lead the subcommittee, which was previously known as the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions.

The name change may represent posturing on the side of Committee Republicans who have recently taken heavy aim at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy will continue to govern. As recently as December, Rep. McHenry made remarks to CFPB Director Rohit Chopra chastising him for the bureau’s lack of transparency and warning him of changes to come in the new year: “I think you’ll wish you tried harder to play by the rules.”

As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy, Barr’s jurisdiction will extend to oversight of financial regulators, including the NCUA, the CFPB, and the Federal Reserve. Said Barr of the appointment, “I also look forward to exercising much needed oversight of other key financial regulators, including the OCC, FDIC, NCUA, CFPB and FSOC, to ensure that both financial institutions and their regulators are facilitating a safe, sound, diverse and accessible financial ecosystem that fosters growth and competition.”

 

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