Rep. Bachus tells local paper that Washington should 'serve' banks

Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), the incoming chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, is coming under fire from liberal groups for suggesting that federal lawmakers and regulators exist to "serve the banks."

Bachus, who is poised to oversee the implementation of the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory overhaul, made the comment in an interview with The Birmingham News.

"In Washington, the view is that the banks are to be regulated, and my view is that Washington and the regulators are there to serve the banks," he said. 

Bachus later clarified his remarks to the paper and said he meant that regulators should set parameters for banks, but not micromanage them.

The comment comes after Bachus had to fend off a challenge from Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) to head the Financial Service committee. Bachus received the endorsements of all the ranking members of the committee's subcommittees, but Royce had the high-profile backing of some conservative groups, including an endorsement from The Wall Street Journal's editorial board.

The comment has been seized by liberal groups as an indication that Bachus plans to undercut the implementation of regulations mandated by Dodd-Frank, including derivatives reform.

A post on the Think Progress blog, run by the liberal Center for American Progress, highlighted the comment.

"Rarely has a Republican lawmaker laid out so starkly just whose interests he believes Washington is supposed to be protecting," the post stated.