Remarks by Martin J. Gruenberg, Chairman, FDIC, to the Consumer Federation of
America on the occasion of the Philip A. Hart Public Service Award
June 14, 2017
I would like to thank the Consumer Federation of America for this extraordinary honor, only
made more extraordinary by the honor of having it presented by Senator Sarbanes.
As Senator Sarbanes noted, I have spent my career working on issues related to financial
regulation, principally on the staff of the Senate Banking Committee and at the FDIC.
If there is one lesson I draw from my experience it is that the public's confidence in the banking
system is not simply dependent on safety and soundness. It is equally influenced by how
people are treated by the financial institutions on which they rely. If they are treated in a fair
and transparent way, that will bolster their confidence. If they are treated in an unfair and
deceptive way, their confidence will be shaken.
The recent financial crisis is perhaps the most dramatic demonstration of that point. The crisis
was triggered by the collapse of the subprime mortgage market in the United States. That
collapse was characterized by badly underwritten mortgages that were also marketed in highly
misleading ways. The resulting crisis nearly caused the collapse of the U.S. financial system
and deeply impacted the public's confidence. Even though the system has now largely
recovered from the crisis, restoring the public's trust is an issue with which we are still
grappling.
From my standpoint, safety and soundness and consumer protection have always been two
sides of the same coin. Both are essential to maintaining the public's confidence in the banking
system, and ultimately its stability.
Consumer Federation has been a leading advocate for consumers in our country for nearly fifty
years. To receive the Philip A. Hart Public Service Award, which was also presented to
Senator Sarbanes and to my predecessor at the FDIC, Sheila Bair, is something I never
anticipated and that leaves me somewhat speechless.
Whatever contribution I have been able to make to a more fair and stable banking system was
as part of extraordinary teams of people at both the Senate Banking Committee and the FDIC.
Everything I know about public service I basically learned from Senator Sarbanes and my
colleagues on the staff of the Senate Banking Committee including Steve Harris, Pat Mulloy,
Jonathan Miller and Patience Singleton.
At the FDIC, I would particularly like to acknowledge my Chief of Staff and Chief Operating
Officer, Barbara Ryan, and the Director of the FDIC's Division of Depositor and Consumer
Protection, Mark Pearce, as well as Sylvia Plunkett, Liz Ortiz, Jonathan Miller, Keith Ernst, and
Patience Singleton.
Thank you again to Consumer Federation. I am deeply touched by this honor.
America on the occasion of the Philip A. Hart Public Service Award
June 14, 2017
I would like to thank the Consumer Federation of America for this extraordinary honor, only
made more extraordinary by the honor of having it presented by Senator Sarbanes.
As Senator Sarbanes noted, I have spent my career working on issues related to financial
regulation, principally on the staff of the Senate Banking Committee and at the FDIC.
If there is one lesson I draw from my experience it is that the public's confidence in the banking
system is not simply dependent on safety and soundness. It is equally influenced by how
people are treated by the financial institutions on which they rely. If they are treated in a fair
and transparent way, that will bolster their confidence. If they are treated in an unfair and
deceptive way, their confidence will be shaken.
The recent financial crisis is perhaps the most dramatic demonstration of that point. The crisis
was triggered by the collapse of the subprime mortgage market in the United States. That
collapse was characterized by badly underwritten mortgages that were also marketed in highly
misleading ways. The resulting crisis nearly caused the collapse of the U.S. financial system
and deeply impacted the public's confidence. Even though the system has now largely
recovered from the crisis, restoring the public's trust is an issue with which we are still
grappling.
From my standpoint, safety and soundness and consumer protection have always been two
sides of the same coin. Both are essential to maintaining the public's confidence in the banking
system, and ultimately its stability.
Consumer Federation has been a leading advocate for consumers in our country for nearly fifty
years. To receive the Philip A. Hart Public Service Award, which was also presented to
Senator Sarbanes and to my predecessor at the FDIC, Sheila Bair, is something I never
anticipated and that leaves me somewhat speechless.
Whatever contribution I have been able to make to a more fair and stable banking system was
as part of extraordinary teams of people at both the Senate Banking Committee and the FDIC.
Everything I know about public service I basically learned from Senator Sarbanes and my
colleagues on the staff of the Senate Banking Committee including Steve Harris, Pat Mulloy,
Jonathan Miller and Patience Singleton.
At the FDIC, I would particularly like to acknowledge my Chief of Staff and Chief Operating
Officer, Barbara Ryan, and the Director of the FDIC's Division of Depositor and Consumer
Protection, Mark Pearce, as well as Sylvia Plunkett, Liz Ortiz, Jonathan Miller, Keith Ernst, and
Patience Singleton.
Thank you again to Consumer Federation. I am deeply touched by this honor.