A new white paper from CCH provides in-depth analysis of the securities, derivatives, corporate governance, systemic risk and dissolution authority components of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, passed by the House in December.
CCH is part of Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, a leading provider of research information and software solutions in key specialty areas for legal and business professionals (business.cch.com).
To read the special new report, House Passes Historic Securities, Derivatives and Systemic Risk Reforms: HR 4173, click here, or visit cch.com/press/news/CCHWhitePaperHR4173.pdf.
“This bill would be the most significant reform of the U.S. financial system since the New Deal of the 1930s,” said white paper author and CCH Principal Securities Analyst Jim Hamilton, JD.
The legislation would create a Financial Services Oversight Council to monitor systemically significant financial institutions, counterparties and potential threats to the financial system.
This ensures that there is no place to hide by closing loopholes, improving consolidated supervision and establishing robust regulatory oversight.
The measure also would provide for the orderly wind-down of failing firms that are systemically significant, ending the notion of “too big to fail.”
By dissolving these firms, the Act would end them and avoid more taxpayer bailouts. The bill also offers robust consumer protections and reforms.
It puts the regulation of consumer protection on a level playing field with the regulation of safety and soundness of financial institutions.
It would create an independent agency focused solely on writing meaningful consumer protection standards and keeping watch over predatory practices that some lenders have shown a propensity to pursue.
Moreover, the legislation increases transparency and accountability by establishing, for the first time, a regulatory system for the over-the-counter derivatives market.
Under the new regime, most derivative trades will take place on exchanges or through clearinghouses. Other important aspects of the bill include the registration of hedge funds and the doubling of SEC funding to hire more experts and investigators.
Investor protection is substantially strengthened. Also, the regulation of credit rating agencies is enhanced under a new regime supervised by the SEC.
A federal insurance office is created to gather information, mitigate systemic risk and provide for insurance expertise to the federal government.
The legislation passed by the House is different from the proposal issued by the Senate Banking Committee last year.
A conference committee will likely have to iron out any differences, assuming that the Senate proposal is passed by the full body.
For More Information
Members of the press interested in speaking with CCH securities and banking law experts should contact: Leslie Bonacum at 1-847-267-7153, [email protected]; or Neil Allen at 1-847-267-2179, [email protected].
For a copy of the white paper, House Passes Historic Securities, Derivatives and Systemic Risk Reforms: HR 4173, click here, or visit http://www.cch.com/press/news/CCHWhitePaperHR4173.pdf.
CCH Financial Crisis News Center
CCH also offers a wealth of special resources related to the financial crisis at the CCH Financial Crisis News Center, financialcrisisupdate.com.
The Center provides the legal community and others with a cohesive and robust selection of breaking news stories, analysis and links to the full text of source documents for regulatory actions and serves as a central entry point for CCH banking and securities law resources related to the crisis.
About Wolters Kluwer Law & Business
Wolters Kluwer Law & Business is a leading provider of research products and software solutions in key specialty areas for legal and business professionals, as well as casebooks and study aids for law students.
Its major product lines include Aspen Publishers, CCH, Kluwer Law International and Loislaw.
Its markets include health care organizations, law firms, law schools, corporate counsel and professionals requiring legal and compliance information.
Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, a unit of Wolters Kluwer, is based in New York City and Riverwoods, Ill. Wolters Kluwer is a leading global information services and publishing company.
The company provides products and services for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, legal, and regulatory sectors.
Wolters Kluwer had 2008 annual revenues of euro 3.4 billion, employs approximately 20,000 people worldwide, and maintains operations in over 35 countries across Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Latin America.
Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices.
Visit wolterskluwer.com for information about our market positions, customers, brands, and organization.
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