What Is the United States House Committee on Financial Services (HFSC)?

The United States House Committee on Financial Services (HFSC) is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It has jurisdiction over matters relating to securities, commodities, banking, and insurance.

The HFSC was established on December 7, 1865, as a select committee and was expanded to become a standing committee in 1891. The current one was originally known as the Committee on Banking and Currency until 1968, after which it adopted its current name.

The Committee on Financial Services is one of the most powerful committees of the United States House of Representatives.

Democrat Maxine Waters from California has been its chairman since 2019. The ranking member is a Republican, named Patrick McHenry, who is from North Carolina and has been serving since 2019. 

The committee has 54 seats, with 30 Democrats and 24 Republicans. It oversees all measures related to the nation's financial services and all aspects of the economy, including:

• Banking, insurance, and real estate industries

• Securities and futures markets

• Money laundering, terrorism financing, and other criminal activities affecting the financial system

The committee also has jurisdiction over housing finance reform and monetary policy issues. It also oversees federal agency rulemaking that implements laws within its jurisdiction. It also has jurisdiction over issues relating to consumer protection, including all laws, regulations, and executive orders pertaining to financial services and products. Other areas of jurisdiction include financial literacy, predatory lending, privacy, and national security issues involving the Department of Treasury's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI).

In addition to its legislative authority, the committee has investigative authority in the departments and agencies within its jurisdiction. It considers whether or not these entities are fulfilling their missions and performing their duties according to the law. These investigations are either done through an oversight hearing or a subcommittee hearing, which is then reported to the full committee for consideration in a markup session.

Subcommittees 

It has six subcommittees including:

1. Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions

2. Diversity and Inclusion

3. Housing, Community Development and Insurance

4. Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship and Capital Markets    

5. National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy    

6. Oversight and Investigations

A different chairman and ranking member chair every subcommittee.