The incredibly important work of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission continues from April 7 - 9th in Washington DC. The FCIC is charged with determining the root causes of the global financial meltdown. A similar commission set up during the Great Depression revealed major abuses in the financial system and helped usher in reform.

The April FCIC meeting is titled Subprime Lending and Securitization and Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs). There will be hearings on the following entities: the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Citigroup, Fannie Mae, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and its predecessors the Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB) and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

Stay tuned for more information about the next FCIC meeting as it becomes available.

Two weeks ago, we noted that the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) is planning to accept and discuss working papers from noted economists on the subject of the causes of the global financial crisis. The presentations will be given this Friday and Saturday, February 26-27th.

The forum, which is open to the public, will be held at the American University Washington College of Law, 4801 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, room 603. The forum will also be webcast live at FCIC.gov. Join us.

As we've noted previously, the FCIC was established to examine the causes of the financial collapse. In January, the commission received public testimony, and, now, they are convening a panel of experts. The panel includes academic luminaries in the field of economics.

The economists will present working papers to the Commission on the key issues and events leading up tot he crisis. Those papers will address the underlying causes of the crisis. A question and answer session with the Commissioners follows the presentations.

The forum, which is open to the public, will be held at the American University Washington College of Law, 4801 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, room 603.

The Securities & Exchange Commission is responsible for enforcing securities and financial regulatory law in this country. In the lead up to and during the beginning of the global financial crisis three men were asleep at the wheel: former SEC head Christopher Cox, former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan and current Fed Chair Ben Bernanke.

Accountable America Chairman Tom Matzzie said that these three men must answer for their actions:

It’s about time. Chairman Angelides is right to call Cox and Greenspan. If they decline to appear they should be subpoenaed.

Cox macheted the law enforcement functions of the SEC—one of the reasons Bernie Madoff was never caught.

Cox in particular allowed the banks to over-leverage themselves by neglecting his role as SEC chair to protect the public. An SEC bank supervision program, started in 2004 by his predecessor, was abominably managed by Cox and has been called one of the single greatest factors contributing to the financial crisis. Cox’s 17-year record and demeanor as chairman was always to protect the Wall Street banks rather than investors, the public and the economy at large.

It is easy to forget that Alan Greenspan ran the Fed for most of the period when the housing bubble was being inflated. He sat by as the bubble grew with few critical words until after he left his post.

The last two days, Accountable America has run newspaper ads calling on the Commission to investigate the regulators who failed to protect the public and the economy. Support our efforts.

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission will meet on January 13 and 14 in Washington, DC in their first investigative hearings of the year. The media is reporting today that the Commission will bring high profile witnesses to the hearing.

From Dow Jones today,

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. chief executive Jamie Dimon, Bank of America Corp. chief executive Brian Moynihan, Morgan Stanley chairman John Mack, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. chief executive Lloyd Blankfein and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair are expected to be among those testifying at the two days of hearings next week.

Panel chairman Phil Angelides, a Democrat, and vice chairman Bill Thomas, a Republican, said they also planned to bring Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to testify under oath later this year.

The Commission has a website now and will reportedly webcast their proceedings.