AFR sent a letter to the House this morning urging members to oppose HR 3283. HR 3283 would allow U.S. banks to evade Dodd-Frank derivatives regulation by dealing through their foreign subsidiaries. This could fatally undermine derivatives oversight.
“H.R. 3283 would let U.S. banks trade derivatives, such as credit default swaps, overseas without having to build up any extra capital to protect against a meltdown in those derivatives. ‘This would create an overwhelming temptation to move swaps business overseas, indeed to the foreign jurisdictions where regulation was most lax compared to the U.S.,’ Americans For Financial Reform, a coalition of labor, consumer and other groups, wrote in a letter to the House today.”
“Consumer advocates said the two bills could lead to abuses. For example, the bill addressing transactions between related companies refers to swaps between ‘affiliates.’ Marcus Stanley, policy director for Americans for Financial Reform, said he worried that corporate lawyers would try broadening the use of that term to include more and more companies. ‘It’s ridiculous to put this broad exemption into statute,’ Stanley said.”
AFR sent a letter to the House, urging opposition to HR 2779 and HR 2682, two harmful derivatives bills which are inaccurately being presented as ‘technical amendments’ necessary to correct minor issues in the Dodd-Frank Act.
Click here to view this week’s highlights and lowlights in Wall Street Reform – March 17, 2012 – March 23, 2012.
Click here to view this week’s highlights and lowlights in Wall Street Reform – March 10, 2012 – March 16, 2012.
Click here to view this week’s highlights and lowlights in Wall Street Reform – February 25, 2012 – March 2, 2012.
Click here to view this week’s highlights and lowlights in Wall Street Reform – February 18, 2012 – February 24, 2012.
“The U.S. House Financial Services Committee approved legislation that would let banks keep commodity and equity derivatives in federally-insured units by removing part of the Dodd-Frank Act’s so-called push-out rule. …Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition including the AFL-CIO labor federation as well as other unions and consumer advocacy groups, opposed changes to the push-out rule in a letter before the vote.”
Click here to view this week’s highlights and lowlights in Wall Street Reform – February 11, 2012 – February 17, 2012.