Elizabeth Warren

What I really think is that it is time to talk about disclosure in a way that means something.

The agency could say if you will issue a page-and-a-half credit card contract that is readable, a one-page mortgage that is readable and make the blanks clear... you are relieved of other regulatory obligations.

There was no reason to develop a business model that put tricks and traps in back and you pretended to compete on things that were not real.

Well, my view is, if you cannot explain it, then you probably should not sell it to customers. I think that is destructive.

What I have suggested is an agency that offers plain vanilla products that provide a safe harbor on regulation.

I think it is time for change. We need someone in Washington who cares primarily about families, who cares about consumers.

The consumer credit market is broken.

It is essential that this new agency have real power, that they have flexible rulemaking authority, that it be adequately funded, not subject to the starvation by Congress, and that it have real enforcement authority.

I strongly support the concept of an independent agency that concentrates solely on consumer financial services issues.

The point, Congressman, as I see it, is that it is all about disclosing them.

I think that is extremely destructive.

Nobody should be protected from making mistakes.

We are really trying hard to see what the effectiveness is and to make recommendations that might make it more effective.

We return to the same themes that we started with our very first report about transparency, accountability and clarity throughout the system.

I am very concerned about the ticking time bomb we face in commercial real estate lending.

We think they could be stronger, and we think they should be used in more ways and more often.

If we go back to a world where the basic consumer financial products are just steady, and they are just plain vanilla, they are ones that have a level playing field.

If the banks are not in a stronger financial position, they will not lend.

I was honored to testify before the COP's recent field hearing in New York City examining problems in commercial real estate.

We support the special Inspector General's efforts.

We have to build it on reality. And reality is what those assets are really worth.

The basic understanding behind Glass-Steagall was, look, we can't keep doing that. That is not going to work for us.

It is always a surprise when... we discover that there are people who have abused public trust.

I appreciate the invitation to be here today on behalf of the Congressional Oversight Panel and to be as helpful to you as I can.

What we should do instead... is, one, either... we should do what the FDIC normally does.