Need-To-Know Memo – National Journal
Financial reform advocates are up in arms over the House-Senate conference ‘minibus’ appropriations bill that would slash roughly one-third of what President Obama requested to fund the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for 2012 to $205.3 million, raising questions about how it will be able to enforce new financial regulations. ‘This leaves the agency without the funding it needs to do its job and will make it impossible to implement key aspects of financial reform,’ said Lisa Donner, the executive director for Americans for Financial Reform, in a press release.
Senators cite MF Global as Volcker rule rationale – Ronald D. Orol (MarketWatch)
“Two senators on Wednesday urged approval of regulations to adopt key provisions in the Volcker rule, arguing that the recent failure of MF Global illustrates why it should be approved. …during a gathering organized by Americans for Financial Reform, a progressive-leaning group.” Click here for more.
Volcker Rule Conflict Provisions Not ‘Tough Enough,’ Levin Says – Phil Mattingly (Bloomberg)
“Volcker rule language aimed at limiting conflicts of interest between U.S. banks and their clients is ‘not nearly tough enough,’ Senator Carl Levin said. Levin, a Michigan Democrat who helped draft the Dodd-Frank Act ban on proprietary trading for deposit-taking banks, said today…at an Americans for Financial Reform conference in Washington.”
How lobbyists make government regulations more burdensome – Suzy Khimm (Washington Post)
“One of the chief complaints you hear about Obama’s Wall Street reform law is that it imposes hugely complex, burdensome regulations on businesses. But why did that happen? It’s partly because industry lobbyists have pushed so hard to carve out exemptions in the law. That’s what happened with the Volcker Rule…The rule originally started out a 10-page provision that has ballooned to nearly 300 pages with scores of exemptions in place, as some supporters of the reform pointed out at an event on Wednesday. …at the gathering, sponsored by Americans for Financial Reform.”
MF Global provides first test for Dodd-Frank – Ira Teinowitz (The Deal)
“Marcus Stanley, policy director of Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition of consumer and labor groups, called the bankruptcy a warning to regulators that the Volcker Rule should be implemented strictly. ‘MF Global’s failure — like the recent proprietary losses by Goldman Sachs — underlines the risks of speculative proprietary bets,” he said. ‘A tough Volcker Rule will restrict this kind of speculation to institutions that are ‘small enough to fail’ and prevent the giant investment banks central to the economy from taking these kinds of risks.’”
The Tax Plan That Occupy Wall Street Loves – Yuval Rosenberg (The Fiscal Times)
“In a letter to Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), the co-chairs of the congressional ‘super committee’ tasked with finding $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction measures by November 23, a group called Americans for Financial Reform, which is a coalition of more than 250 economic, union, and activist groups, explained why it’s backing the tax: ‘The deficit problem that the Select Committee must address was to a significant degree created by the world financial crisis, a crisis caused by Wall Street speculation.'”
