Banks in a lobbying frenzy?

February 16, 2010 | By Jim Kim

On the one hand, bank CEOs are offering up contrite words, in hopes of appeasing angry lawmakers and the public. But they are hardly willing to sit back and let all the new reform movement run its course. As they should, they are in the thick of a lobbying war, to stave off new regulations in a host of areas.

The top eight banks hiked their lobbying expenditures to nearly $30 billion in 2009, up 12 percent from 2008. It could go even higher in 2010, according to the LA Times. The top spender was JPMorgan Chase (JPM), who spent $6.2 million lobbying, up 12 percent on the year. It reportedly has more than 30 lobbyists working for it. At Wells Fargo (WFC), lobbying expenditures rose 27. At Morgan Stanley (MS), such expenditures rose 16 percent. Much of the spending occurred at the end of 2009, as the reform battle heated up. We are in the thick of the battle now, so stay tuned. They might be forced to become even more active. It's a good time for financial services lobbyists.

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