Tim Scott Questions SEC Chair About 'De-Banking' And The Future Of Crypto

3/31/2025

During a Senate Banking Committee Hearing on considering the nominations for the new SEC chair on Thursday, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) asked SEC Chair nominee Paul Atkins about whether banks have the right to deny people services.

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Transcript

00:00Thank you very much.

00:01Mr. Atkins, you just heard the congressman talk

00:03about the golden age, and certainly we're looking

00:05for the golden age.

00:06The one thing I can say about the SEC is

00:09under your predecessor, there was no golden age.

00:13The SEC suffered a series of damaging losses as an agency.

00:17It saw multiple rulemakings overturned in court,

00:20had staff attorneys sanctioned for gross abuse of their power

00:25by a federal judge in the debt box case

00:28and experienced its highest attrition rate

00:30in over a decade.

00:32As SEC chair, how can the SEC recover from these losses

00:36and return to its core capabilities as an agency?

00:42Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman.

00:44While I agree with you, I think all those issues

00:48that you raised are very disturbing, and I, you know,

00:51commit to get to work, you know, if I'm confirmed to try

00:54to make sure that we increase the morale of the agency,

00:59that we cure some of the dysfunction that's there,

01:02the demoralization of it, and get back to work

01:05and get back to basics, back to this mission.

01:08That's very important.

01:09Mr. Atkins, I'll continue with you.

01:11As you know, it has long been a priority of mine,

01:14this committee, and frankly the Trump administration,

01:16to end the practice of debanking.

01:19This Congress, the Banking Committee, has focused

01:22on responding to Operation Choke Point 2.0,

01:25where the Biden administration's financial regulators reportedly

01:28pressured banks to avoid offering services

01:30to the crypto industry.

01:32As SEC chairman, will you work to ensure that everyone

01:35who wishes to play by the rules, including those

01:38in the crypto industry, will be treated fairly?

01:41Absolutely.

01:43Mr. Gould, a few weeks ago, I introduced the FIRM Act,

01:47which would eliminate reputational risk

01:50from the consideration in bank examination.

01:53And two weeks ago, that bill passed out of this committee.

01:56Then just last week, the OCC Acting Comptroller Hood took

02:01the step to proactively remove reputational risk

02:03from the Comptroller's handbook, booklets,

02:07and other OCC guidance, and instructed OCC examiners

02:10that they should no longer examine for reputational risk.

02:14Do you support the Acting Comptroller's decision

02:16to remove references to reputational risk?

02:19I do, Senator.

02:20Thank you, sir.

02:21If confirmed, what other steps would you take, if any,

02:25to end debanking, and more generally,

02:27the politicization of federal banking agencies?

02:31Senator, thank you very much for that question.

02:33I think it is unacceptable for banks or regulators

02:37to discriminate on customers on the basis

02:39of the customer's politics or religion or the mere fact

02:43that they are engaged in a lawful activity that

02:46is, for whatever reason, politically disfavored.

02:49So I applaud the committee's efforts

02:51to shine a spotlight on what has been going on for a while.

02:55These are issues, Senator, with which I have been working

02:58since 2018, when I was a lawyer for this committee.

03:01And I commit, Senator, to you and to the committee

03:05to continue to support your oversight efforts,

03:08as well as to use the OCC's full powers,

03:13consistent with its statutory mission with law,

03:16to do whatever I can, if confirmed,

03:18to shine a spotlight on these activities

03:20and ensure that they are not allowed

03:22within the banking system.

03:23Thank you very much.

03:24One last question for you.

03:25As a top priority for me, this committee

03:27and the Trump administration to foster digital asset

03:30innovation so that the US can become

03:32the crypto capital of the world.

03:34In rescinding interpretive letter 1179,

03:38I think Comptroller Hood took a crucial step

03:40in rolling back guidance at the OCC

03:42that limited crypto companies' access to the US banking

03:45system.

03:46Are you supportive of this effort

03:47to foster innovation in the US?

03:49And if confirmed as Comptroller, what role

03:52do you envision the OCC continuing

03:54to play in allowing digital asset innovation?

03:57Thank you for the question, Senator.

04:00I believe that many of these activities

04:03are clearly legally permissible.

04:05And I would hope, if confirmed as Comptroller,

04:08to engage on the hard work of determining ways

04:12constructively in which these activities that

04:14are lawful can be done within the system

04:17in a safe and sound fashion.

04:19I would hope that over the last four years,

04:20the agency that is the OCC, Senator,

04:23has gotten some experience with respect to these assets.

04:27And so we'll be prepared to ensure supervision in a safe

04:30and sound manner going forward.

04:31Thank you very much.

Tim Scott Questions SEC Chair About 'De-Banking' And The Future Of Crypto

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