Politics

You Can Almost Hear A Pin Drop The Moment John Kennedy Asks Wall Street CEOs One Single, Blunt Question

A Senate hearing was dead silent after Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy asked JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon about a government regulation.  [Screenshot C-Span]

[Screenshot C-Span]

Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
Font Size:

A Senate hearing was dead silent after Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy asked JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon about a government regulation.

Kennedy asked Dimon during an oversight hearing whether his bank ever had more liabilities than assets, with Dimon answering no.

Kennedy then noted that three other banks did face that situation and went under this year.

“In my judgment, they went broke because their management did really stupid stuff. And because the FDIC and the regulators who were in charge of keeping them from doing stupid stuff sat there, like bumps on a log, sucking on their teeth, and watched them do stupid stuff. And in many cases, had to to turn to you to clean up the mess,” Kennedy said. (RELATED: JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon Is No ‘Savior’: He’s A Bond Villian)

“Now, in fairness to the FDIC, it may have been that the people in charge of watching those banks, at the FDIC, were too busy urinating off the top of a hotel, or abusing young women who went to work for the FDIC. The FDIC chairman told us recently, yes, he knew about it, it happened, but he wasn’t the chairman yet and didn’t have the authority to stop it.”

“Mr. Dimon, don’t you find it ironic, the FDIC is now turning to you and saying, ‘you know our track record, which is blemished at the FDIC, your bank isn’t broken but we’re going to tell you how to fix it.’ Do you find that ironic? They’re going to tell you how to fix it based on standards put together by bureaucrats in Basel, Switzerland, not by the United States Congress. Do you find it ironic that they’re telling you this and proposing this, isn’t that kind of like being given gun safety advice by Alec Baldwin?”

Dimon appeared confused as to whether he should answer the question, leaving a long moment of silence before he asked, while laughing, “Should I answer the question?”

WATCH KENNEDY GRILL CHRISTOPHER WRAY OVER HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP CONTENTS:

Dimon then explained how the risks of the banks that failed were “hiding in plain sight.” Dimon then said there are risks about “transparency” through the new rule creation process and could hurt American banks.

NO CONTEXT JOHN KENNEDY:

Kennedy was referring to the FDIC’s plan to overhaul how banks operate and  manage their capital using standards created in Basel, Switzerland. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision is a panel aimed at ensuring regulators globally apply the same standards to capital so that banks worldwide can withstand financial turmoil.