美国国家公共电台 NPR Former Banker, Now Regulator, Wants To Allow Banks To Make Payday-Style Loans

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

All right, a powerful banking¹ regulator who was appointed by President Trump² is facing questions today in the Senate. Joseph Otting is a former bank executive. He now runs a federal agency that oversees³ some of the very companies that paid him millions of dollars in compensation. Consumer advocates are particularly worried that he is encouraging banks to make loans like payday lenders. Here's NPR's Chris Arnold.

CHRIS ARNOLD, BYLINE⁴: Trump administration officials have been aggressively moving to roll back environmental and consumer protections, and Wall Street watchdog groups have been worried that Joseph Otting would also take a chainsaw to regulations that they like. He now heads up the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which oversees the nation's largest banks. Christopher Peterson is with the Consumer Federation⁵ of America.

CHRISTOPHER PETERSON: Joseph Otting is a multimillionaire bank CEO that made a lot of money in foreclosures on homes of families during the financial crisis.

ARNOLD: Otting worked at OneWest Bank, which drew criticism for aggressive foreclosure practices. He worked with a bunch of other banks, too. And it's been nearly 40 years since a former bank executive became the top regulator overseeing banks at the OCC. Otting has a long list of things he wants to change. But actually, Peterson says, so far, Otting hasn't been as aggressive as other Trump appointees.

PETERSON: I think it's a little too soon to tell what Otting's approach is going to be. He has not come in like a wrecking⁶ ball in the same way that Scott Pruitt has at the EPA or Mick Mulvaney has at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

ARNOLD: But Otting has done one very concrete thing so far that worries Peterson. Otting wrote to the CEOs of all national banks to formally encourage them to get into what's called small-dollar loans - that is, a loan, say, for a few hundred bucks⁷ to pay for a car repair. Sometimes the loans are more - a few thousand dollars. Many payday lending outfits⁸ charge very high interest rates for these types of loans. Under the Obama administration, banks were blocked from making these payday-style loans, and conservatives don't like that.

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SEAN DUFFY: Sixty-three percent of Americans don't have enough in their savings⁹ account to cover a $500 emergency expense.

ARNOLD: That's Republican Congressman¹⁰ Sean Duffy of Wisconsin. He was at a hearing yesterday where Otting testified before the House Financial Services Committee. Otting himself said, basically, that if banks were offering loans to compete with payday lenders, that would mean Americans needing some emergency cash would be able to get more affordable¹¹ loan terms. Otting told Congressman Duffy...

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JOSEPH OTTING: By getting banks back in that space, I think they get fair, more economically efficient pricing on loans.

ARNOLD: And Otting says people with bad credit could improve their credit scores by paying off these small-dollar loans to banks.

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OTTING: Then they can get back into the mainstream¹² of banking, and that's another one of my clear goals.

ARNOLD: The banking industry makes the same points, but Christopher Peterson isn't so sure. He says in the past when banks are making these loans...

PETERSON: Some banks have charged triple-digit interest rates that have rivaled the high costs that you see at payday lenders. For example, Wells Fargo - it had interest rates that were effectively around 300 percent, and they also charged a bunch of extra fees at the same time on top of that 300 percent interest rate.

ARNOLD: Peterson says it's still unclear exactly what Otting will allow banks to do this time around. Also on Otting's to-do list - he says he wants to, quote, "modernize¹³" what banks have to do to comply with a civil rights law that requires banks to serve low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. Advocates worry he'll water down the requirements. Otting is bound to get questions about that as he faces the Senate Banking Committee today. Chris Arnold, NPR News.

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1 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

6 wrecking   

破坏

参考例句：

• He teed off on his son for wrecking the car. 他严厉训斥他儿子毁坏了汽车。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Instead of wrecking the valley, the waters are put to use making electricity. 现在河水不但不在流域内肆疟，反而被人们用来生产电力。 来自辞典例句

7 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 outfits   

n.全套装备( outfit的名词复数 )；一套服装；集体；组织v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He jobbed out the contract to a number of small outfits. 他把承包工程分包给许多小单位。 来自辞典例句
• Some cyclists carry repair outfits because they may have a puncture. 有些骑自行车的人带修理工具，因为他们车胎可能小孔。 来自辞典例句

9 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

10 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

11 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

12 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

13 modernize   

vt.使现代化，使适应现代的需要

参考例句：

• It was their manifest failure to modernize the country's industries.他们使国家进行工业现代化，明显失败了。
• There is a pressing need to modernise our electoral system.我们的选举制度迫切需要现代化。