| Online: | |
| Visits: | |
| Stories: |
| Story Views | |
| Now: | |
| Last Hour: | |
| Last 24 Hours: | |
| Total: | |
‘What is Congress Trying to Secretly Deregulate in Dodd-Frank?’
And so it begins:
What is Congress Trying to Secretly Deregulate in Dodd-Frank?, by Mike Konczal: There are concerns that the budget bill under debate in Congress will eliminate Section 716 of Dodd-Frank, using language previously drafted by Citigroup. So what is this all about?
Section 716 of Dodd-Frank says that institutions that receive federal insurance through FDIC and the Federal Reserve can’t be dealers in the specialized derivatives market. Banks must instead “push out” these dealers into separate subsidiaries that don’t benefit from the government backstop. They can still trade in many standardized derivatives and hedge their own risks, however. This was done because having banks act as swap dealers put taxpayers at risk in the event of a sudden collapse. That’s it.
Why would you want a regulation like this? The first is that it acts as a complement to the Volcker Rule. …
A second reason is 716 will also prevent exotic derivatives from being subsidized by the government’s safety net. …
The third reason is for the sake of financial stability. …
Stiglitz reiterated this point today, saying “Section 716 facilitates the ability of markets to provide the kind of discipline without which a market economy cannot effectively function. I was concerned in 2010 that Congress would weaken 716, but what is proposed now is worse than anything contemplated back then.”
Now many on Wall Street would argue that this rule is unnecessary. However, their arguments are not persuasive. …
We should be strengthening, not weakening, financial reform. And removing this piece of the law will not benefit this project.
See also Barney Frank Criticizes Planned Roll-Back of Namesake Financial Law.
Source: http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2014/12/what-is-congress-trying-to-secretly-deregulate-in-dodd-frank.html
