https://www.mediaite.com/media/tv/elizabeth-warren-scolds-cnbc-anchor-youre-tossing-confetti-for-big-bank-thats-been-tagged-for-money-laundering/

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) scolded CNBC anchor Sarah Eisen for defending the Federal Reserve lifting a punitive asset cap on Wells Fargo after seven years.

The Fed lifted its $1.95 trillion cap on Wells Fargo this week. It was put in place in 2018 following multiple scandals, including when employees were caught opening unauthorized accounts in customers’ names. The bank saw an immediate bump in its stock price on Wednesday.

Warren joined CNBC on Wednesday and said the people at the Fed behind the decision to lift the asset cap “should be embarrassed.”

In a Tuesday statement, Warren called Wells Fargo “one of Wall Street’s most derelict banks.”

Eisen asked at the top of the interview why Warren wouldn’t “take the win” and see the long-standing asset cap as a victory for banking regulations. The anchor later circled back to her point after Warren said Wells Fargo has been “tagged” for numerous scandals while under their asset cap.

“Final point on Wells Fargo and just regulating banks in general, Senator Warren, a lot of folks in the banking system will say, OK, mistakes have been made, but the regulators are there. And actually, what this is a really effective display of what it looks like to have pretty hardcore regulation that spans both Republican and Democrat administrations,” Eisen said.

The anchor noted there could be “unintended consequences” to increasing regulatory pressure.

“They’re regulated on some of the issues you talked about as well– that have happened since then. The question is, do you worry at all about the unintended consequences then of putting even more regulatory pressure on these banks, which are critical for our financial system, providing liquidity, providing loans? Do you want to see that in the hands of crypto firms or others that are less regulated?” Eisen said.

“I’m sorry, you’re throwing a giant parade and tossing confetti over regulation that, let’s see, what’s happened in the last nine months? Wells Fargo has been tagged for money laundering, it’s been tagged for being engaged in consumer fraud, and it’s been tagged for cheating its investors. Man, I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sound like to me really tough oversight and a celebration of what a great job the oversight folks have done,” Warren shot back.

The senator demanded the Fed release “banking examinations” regarding Wells Fargo so she could see the “homework” behind lifting the asset cap.

“If the Fed has an argument to make here, then the Fed should release those banking examinations for five years to the banking committee and let us look at their homework,” she said.