Banking and Finance Law Daily Wrap Up, FINANCIAL STABILITY—Invited industry groups criticized for skipping financial governance ‘transparency’ hearing, (Sep 9, 2024)

By Jeff Williams

Rep. Barr singled out the Network for Greening the Financial System in particular for not responding to an invitation to appear before the subcommittee at the hearing.

House Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) has criticized the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the Basel Committee for Banking Supervision (BCBS), and the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) for not accepting invitations to appear Wednesday at a scheduled House Finance Committee hearing on “Transparency in Global Governance.”

“These global governance bodies, among many others, are exerting increasing influence on the U.S. Federal bank regulatory framework,” Barr said in a press release. “It’s disappointing, but not surprising, that they refuse to be transparent with Congress and the American people. This is exactly why the Financial Services Committee has made it a priority to shine a light on their opaque dealings.”

While BIS and BCBS declined the committee’s invitation to testify at the hearing, Barr called NGFS not appearing “[e]ven more appalling” because it “didn’t even feel the need to respond to our invitation in any way, despite having touted its participation in a partisan forum with Senate Democrats.” Barr referenced a document on the NGFS website detailing the participation by group representatives in a roundtable discussion at the invitation of Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis.

“Republicans are working to reassert American sovereignty of our financial regulation,” Mr. Barr argued. "As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy, I will redouble my efforts to bring long overdue accountability to these global governance groups.”

Though they declined to participate, BIS and BCBS “offered willingness to answer questions Members may have in alternative venues, but not in a public setting,” Barr said.

The witness list for the hearing includes Christina Parajon Skinner, an associate professor of legal studies and business ethics at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, American Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Paul Kupiec, and Elizabeth Jacobs, sustainable finance senior specialist at E3G.

Companies: Bank for International Settlements; Basel Committee for Banking Supervision; Network for Greening the Financial System

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