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Yingling, E

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Edward Yingling is President and CEO of the American Bankers Association (ABA). Yingling became Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on May 1, 2005, but had been the ABA's top lobbyist since 1985, responsible for the legislative, legal, regulatory, tax and policy development activities of the association.[1] He was recently named "the 24th most powerful person in DC" by GQ magazine[2].

According to their website, ABA was cited as one of the "Power 25" in Fortune magazine's annual poll of the most powerful lobbying groups. ABA was one of only three trade associations to be in the "Power 25" every time the list was published.[1]

Contents[hide]

Biography

Edward Yingling worked as a private-practice, Washington, D.C. attorney from 1973 to 1985. He worked for the law firm Barnett, Yingling and Shay best known for its long-term relationship representing Citicorp (now CitiGroup, Inc. or Citi). [3] Founders of the firm include Jack Yingling (Edward Yingling's father), former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Robert Barnett, and Jerry Shay -- a long term General Counsel to the Federal Reserve Board.[4] Edward Yingling served as a legislative aid to U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright in 1973-1974.[5]

Yingling graduated from Princeton University in 1970 with a degree in politics and earned his law degree in 1973 from the Stanford University Law School. He is married to Dana Gordon, and they have one daughter.[1]

Yingling is paid a $2.1 million per year.[6]

Record and Controversy

Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA)

Yingling on the CFPA proposed by President Barack Obama: "There is no shortage of laws designed to  protect consumers."[7]

Yingling on the CFPA provision that would require all banks communications with their consumers be "reasonable": "This term is so vague, no banker would know what to do with it."[8]

Mortgage and Foreclosure

Yingling on a bill to allow judges to modify mortgages during a bankruptcy to help keep people in their homes: "The cram down provision if it became law would raise the cost of all mortgages for everyone."[9]

Credit Cards

Yingling on the Credit Card Holder Bill of Rights which would end some of the tricks and traps associated with credit cards: "Those that manage their credit well will in some degree subsidize those that have credit problems."[10]

Yingling on the Federal Reserves efforts to increase transparency in credit card fees and interest rates -- “The Federal Reserve’s proposal is an unprecedented regulatory intrusion into marketplace pricing and product offerings."[11]

Yingling on traditional caps on interest rates which were America's primary financial regulation since colonial times: "[I]n this country, we have a strong bias against controls on prices. We don't have the government set prices. And we do that for a very good reason, because it tends to mess up the economy. That's the kind of thing they do in command and control economies, and it didn't work very well in East Germany and the Soviet Union to have price controls."[12]

Tightening of Bankruptcy Law

Yingling on the 2005 bankruptcy bill which made it much harder for consumers to file for bankruptcy protections from credit card, medical and other debt: "The bankruptcy reform bill passed today will protect and improve our nation's financial safety net. It will ensure that bankruptcy protection is fully available for the neediest Americans, while reining in some filers who wrongly use the system as a financial planning tool."[13]

Glass-Steagall Repeal

Yingling on Glass-Steagall repeal in 1999 (the depression-era law which separated investment banks from commercial banks from insurance firms to protect consumers): "This is the most important piece of financial services legislation in over 60 years. And basically, it's designed to update the laws ... The Treasury has estimated that this can save consumers $15 billion a year, and actually in a letter today the secretary said under some circumstances it could be as high as $18 billion a year.[14]

Yingling on Glass-Steagall industry campaign: "We have been lobbying jointly with the insurance industry and the securities industry, often holding joint strategy sessions. That is really amazing, considering where we were a few years ago."[15]

Mark-to-Market Accounting

The American Bankers Association (ABA) has urged Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to raise accounting issues at the upcoming G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh in order to curb efforts by standard-setters to expand mark-to-market accounting to loans and debt instruments. Mark-to-market or "fair value" accounting refers to the accounting standards of assigning a value to a position held in a financial instrument based on the current fair market price for the instrument or similar instruments. The use of fair value measurements has increased steadily over the past decade, primarily in response to investor demand for relevant and timely financial statements that will aid in making better informed decisions. Now that banks are obliged to use mark-to-market to write down assets, many banks have been for suspending these rules which would allow them to bolster their income statement by not recognizing the loss on the current market value of their assets. Edward Yingling has advocated suspending mark-to-market rules and his position is that the mark-to-market accounting changes proposed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board would lead to reduced lending, changes in the product types available to customers, an increased cost of capital to the banking system, and higher cost of credit to borrowers. [16]

Members

According to their Web page, ABA "brings together banks of all sizes and charters into one association. ABA works to enhance the competitiveness of the nation's banking industry and strengthen America's economy and communities. Its members, the majority of which are banks with less than $125 million in assets, represent over 95 percent of the industry's $13.3 trillion in assets and employ over 2 million men and women." [17]

While the ABA likes to tout the small banks it represents, Frontline cites some of the biggest banks as members including CitiGroup, J. P. Morgan Chase, and MBNA. [18]

According to the Center for Responsive Politics: "The American Bankers Association represents banks of all types and sizes, including regional banks, holding companies and savings associations. One of the most powerful lobbying groups on Capitol Hill, the association regularly presses Congress for regulatory relief and industry tax breaks. But its main interest lately has been bankruptcy legislation The association is part of a special coalition of credit card companies, banks and credit unions pushing for a bankruptcy bill that would force consumers to repay at least some of their debts." [19]

Campaign Contributions

Edward Yingling’s 2008 campaign contributions include: [20]

Top 10 Recipients from the ABA (2008) cycle:[21]

Lobbying

In addition to their own formidable lobbying force, the ABA works in conjunction with lobbying firms including Ernst & Young, the Glover Park Group, Clark and Associates, Butera and Andrews, Tassey and Associates and more. [22]

According to Center for Responsive Politics, Edward Yingling and the ABA have already spent $4.4 million in 2009 on federal lobbying efforts. They have lobbied on the following bills in the 111th Congress: [23]

Contact Details

American Bankers Association

1120 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC 20036

1-800-BANKERS

http://www.aba.com/

Articles and resources

Related SourceWatch articles

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 American Bankers Association "Edward Yingling", ABA website, accessed September 15, 2009.
  2. ↑ The 50 Most Powerful People in D.C., GQ, November, 2009
  3. ↑ American Banker, May 24, 1985.
  4. ↑ "American Banker," Oct.21, 1984.
  5. ↑ "American Banker," May 24, 1985.
  6. ↑ "Salary Update: Who Makes What?" The Washingtonian, May 1, 2009.
  7. ↑ "Testimony of Mr. Edward Yingling, President and CEO American Bankers Association", Hearing: Creating a Consumer Financial Protection Agency: A Cornerstone of America’s New Economic Foundation. Congressional Testimony, United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, July 14, 2009.
  8. ↑ United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Testimony of Mr. Edward Yingling, President and CEO American Bankers Association, Hearing: Creating a Consumer Financial Protection Agency: A Cornerstone of America’s New Economic Foundation] Congressional Testimony, July 14, 2009.
  9. ↑ Stephen Labaton and Eric Dash, "Banks Sway Bills to Aid Consumers", New York Times, April 22, 2009.
  10. ↑ Andrew Martin, "Credit Card Industry Aims to Profit From Sterling Payers", New York Times, May 18, 2009.
  11. ↑ Stephen Labaton, "U.S. Seeks New Curbs on Credit-Card Practices", New York Times, May 3, 2008.
  12. ↑ "The Secret History of the Credit Card: Interview: Edward Yingling", Frontline, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), September 16, 2004.
  13. ↑ Harriet Johnson Brackey, "Bankruptcy Rules Getting Stricter", Miami Herald, April 15, 2005.
  14. ↑ "Banking Reform: Moving on Money", NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Public Broadcasting Service, November 3, 1999.
  15. ↑ Stephen Labaton, "Senate Votes to Drop Barriers Between Nation's Financial Industries", New York Times, May 7,1999.
  16. ↑ "Bankers Want G-20 to Rein in FASB, IASB", WebCPA, September 10, 2009.
  17. ↑ American Bankers Association About ABA, ABA website, accessed September 16, 2009
  18. ↑ Public Broadcasting Service [1], Frontline, September 16, 2004.
  19. ↑ OpenSecrets.org “American Bankers Association” OpenSecrets.org, retrieved September 11, 2009.
  20. ↑ "Edward Yingling Contribution List in 2008", CampaignMoney.com, accessed September 11, 2009.
  21. ↑ "American Bankers Association: Recipients", OpenSecrets.org, Center for Responsive politics, accessed September 11, 2009.
  22. ↑ OpenSecrets.orgAmerican Bankers Association OpenSecrets.org, retrieved September 16, 2009
  23. ↑ OpenSecrets.org American Bankers Association 20009, retrieved, September 16, 2009

External resources

External articles

Categories: Real Economy Project | People | Finance | United States

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Edward Yingling

There’s a plethora of dodgy financial tools used by Wall Street to fleece the American public, but Yingling may be the biggest. He’s been the American Bankers Association’s top lobby-dog for more than twenty years.

There’s not been a poverty-creating financial deregulation to wend its way through the ever-complicit Congress in the past quarter-century that hasn’t been covered in Yingling’s dirty fingerprints. In 1999, he unashamedly called the Glass-Steagall repeal (the Depression-era law that separated investment and commercial banks) “the most important piece of financial services legislation in over sixty years,” which could “save consumers $15 billion a year.” Legalizing insane gambles, like collateralized debt obligations and mortgage-backed securities, was important to his too-big-to-fail clients (like Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase), which, along with the rest of the banking industry, spend roughly $100 million a year lobbying.

Naturally, when the TARP hit the fan, the Bankers Association was pushing for the bailout as fiercely as anyone. When Dodd-Frank was being severely watered down, Yingling was there with a very large bucket.

And Obama’s proposed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau? Well, it threatens to sever the connection between “consumer protection and safety and soundness,” Yingling told Congress.

He doesn’t earn more than $2 million a year to make sense. altnernet 9 loathsome

SEIU Blog

1:01 PM Eastern - Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Top Bank Lobbyist Receives High Honor

By John Vandeventer

If only they gave out awards for helping bank CEOs get rich and using tax dollars to lobby against financial reform; ABA president and CEO Edward Yingling would win them all.

Well, exciting news for fans of Wall Street greed. Now, there is such an honor: the Golden Throne Award - given out by a new site called BanksterUSA.org. And the first one is going to none other than Edward Yingling. Our friends at BanksterUSA.org sum up Yingling's career highlights here:

According to the Center for Responsive Politics Yingling's group, the American Bankers Association, has already spent $4.4 million in 2009 on federal lobbying efforts. These efforts including blasting the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, watering down the Credit Card Holders Bill of Rights, tanking the bill to allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages, undermining efforts to cap executive compensation, molding the TARP Reform and Accountability Act and other federal bailout programs to their liking. In addition to their own formidable lobbying force, the ABA has tapped a stable of talent from illustrious K Street lobbying firms. While Yingling takes the heat for his members by answering requests for high-profile media interviews, according to the Washingtonian, Yingling is paid a mere $2.1 million per year.

This has to be a proud day for big bank CEOs everywhere. Which is why they've decided to use our tax dollars to throw a party this weekend in Chicago! And that's why thousands of taxpayers have decided to meet them there. We're going to confront the Wall Street executives and tell them to stop using our money to lobby against financial reforms that would protect us.

Will you join us? Demand that the big banks invite taxpayers to their gathering in Chicago.

cmd:

Today, the Real Economy Project of CMD is introducing a new award we are fondly calling our "Golden Throne Award." The Throne salutes the behind-the-scenes lobbyists and spinmeisters who have managed to maintain the status quo and hold off any meaningful reform of the financial services sector since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and AIG rocked the world one year ago this week. The award invokes fond memories of the $1.2 million bathroom renovation ordered by Merrill's CEO, John Thain, shortly before the firm lost $27 billion and collapsed into the arms of Bank of America (BofA).

Our first award is being presented to lobbyist extraordinaire EDWARD YINGLING, who for over 30 years has been a top lobbyist and frontman for the banking industry. Currently, he is the President and CEO of the American Bankers Association.

Our press release on the award lauded Mr. Yingling: "Few have done more to earn a place on this seat of honor. From his days as a cub lobbyist fighting to rid the nation of caps on interest rates, Glass-Steagall and other proven consumer protections to his recent yeoman's effort to keep bank fees unregulated and kill off the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Edward Yingling has consistently been a true advocate for the American Bankster." The proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency -- a type of financial product safety commission for credit cards and other consumer products -- is a top priority for consumer and public interest groups and the top target of the financial services lobby and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. While Yingling has fielded a huge array of lobbyists to battle the measure, the Chamber recently launched a $100 million campaign to fight the measure. You can be sure you will be hearing more about that campaign from us in the weeks to come.

Arrayed against this onslaught is a vibrant coalition of consumer, housing, and labor groups called Americans for Financial Reform who are trying to keep Congress accountable to the folks that elected them. Last week, the Consumer Federation of America released a well-modeled and statistically-significant poll demonstrating that 57 percent of Americans support the creation of a new federal agency to protect consumers who purchase banking and other financial products and services. Those most adversely affected by many unfair and deceptive financial practices expressed the strongest support for a new consumer protection agency -- young adults under 35 years (70 percent), African-Americans (79 percent), Hispanic-Americans (70 percent), and low-income persons (69 percent).

Consumers know well that we need a new sheriff to police the banksters of the world. Learn more about Mr. Yingling below and if you would like to receive more alerts on American Banksters contact us at info@banksterusa.org. Here is a recent photo of Mr. Yingling (on the right) with his buddies, Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs, Kenneth Chenault of American Express, and Ken Lewis of BofA.

YINGLING'S LOBBYING: According to the Center for Responsive Politics Yingling's group, the American Bankers Association, has already spent $4.4 million in 2009 on federal lobbying efforts. These efforts including blasting the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, watering down the Credit Card Holders Bill of Rights, tanking the bill to allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages, undermining efforts to cap executive compensation, molding the TARP Reform and Accountability Act and other federal bailout programs to their liking. In addition to their own formidable lobbying force, the ABA has tapped a stable of talent from illustrious K Street lobbying firms.  While Yingling takes the heat for his members by answering requests for high-profile media interviews, according to the Washingtonian, Yingling is paid a mere $2.1 million per year.

YINGLING'S DINGALINGS: After the collapse of the global economy due to insufficient protections for consumers against predatory loan practices -- Yingling: "There is no shortage of laws designed to protect consumers." Congressional Testimony, July 14, 2009.

On a reform measure that would require all bank communications with their consumers be "reasonable" -- Yingling: "This term is so vague, no banker would know what to do with it." Congressional Testimony, July 14, 2009.

Fear mongering on a bill to allow judges to modify mortgages during a bankruptcy to help keep people in their homes -- Yingling: "The cram down provision if it became law would raise the cost of all mortgages for everyone." New York Times, April 22, 2009.

Fear mongering on the Credit Card Holder Bill of Rights which put an end to many of the tricks and traps associated with credit cards -- Yingling: "Those that manage their credit well will in some degree subsidize those that have credit problems." New York Times, May 18, 2009.

On the Federal Reserve's modest efforts to increase disclosure for credit card fees and interest rates -- Yingling: “The Federal Reserve’s proposal is an unprecedented regulatory intrusion into marketplace pricing and product offerings." New York Times, May 3, 2008.

On traditional caps on interest rates (usury laws) which were America's primary protection against loansharking since Colonial times --  Yingling: "[I]n this country, we have a strong bias against controls on prices. We don't have the government set prices. And we do that for a very good reason, because it tends to mess up the economy. That's the kind of thing they do in command and control economies, and it didn't work very well in East Germany and the Soviet Union to have price controls." Frontline, September 16, 2004.

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