The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission is set to hold its first public hearing on January 13, where it will interview several CEO’s from the nation’s largest banks. The hearing is aimed at gaining perspective on items that caused the financial crisis in 2008, thus providing the American taxpayer a clean answer on what happened and what still needs to be fixed.
Banking execs participating in the hearing are- Jamie Dixon of JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Brian Moynihan of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and John Mack or Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS).
Congress created the commission in the spring of 2009 as part of the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009, which was signed into law by President Barack Obama on May 20, 2009.
The commission is chaired by Phil Angelides, Democrat and former California Treasurer. Republican Bill Thomas, who formerly chaired the House Ways and Means Committee, is the vice chairman.
The two men were interviewed on Thursday, where Thomas, according to reports, said the commission’s inquiry should include a review of repealing the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999, which mandated that investment banks and commercial banks remain separate.
They are joined by eight other appointed officials to form what is a bi-partisan committee. Brooksley Born, Byron Georgiou, Bob Graham, Keith Hennessey, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Heather Murren, John W. Thompson and Peter Wallison round out the group.
The commission has till December 15 to produce a report detailing items that led the U.S. financial system to the brink. However, the government already has regulatory legislation to reform the financial industry in place.
The commission does believe that items learned from its investigation can certainly help future administrations, as well as improve existing policy.
