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November 22, 2011

Banks on Pace to Spend Record Amount on Lobbying 
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A new report from the Charlotte Observer has revealed banks are on pace
to spend a record amount on lobbying this year in an attempt to weaken
or repeal new financial regulations. Banks have spent $47 million in
lobbying so far this year up from $42 million at this time last year.
Wells Fargo has spent $6 million on lobbying — an 80 percent increase
over last year. Three years ago, Wells Fargo had five Washington
lobbyists. Now it has 28. The massive amounts spent on lobbying has
helped banks gain access to regulators. According to Public Citizen,
Wall Street lobbyists have had more than 350 meetings with regulators to
discuss weakening the Volcker Rule. During that same time, public
advocacy groups like Public Citizen were granted only 20 meetings.



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