Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2009: Introduction

Senator Dodd has dropped a behemoth bill that seeks to systematically reform the financial system.  The legislation would create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency that would handle financial matters with a retail flavor and a Financial Institutions Regulatory Administration that would largely combine the bank regulators into a single administrative agency. The FIRA is probably the most controversial aspect so far since it entails a deliberate effort to place such authority somewhere other than with the Federal Reserve Board.  This aspect has been criticized by the Obama Administration. 

There are, however, a number of other reforms buried in the bill, including some that would significantly affect the SEC and some that would sharply alter the corporate governance process.  We'll take a few posts and explore these provisions.  In the meantime, the bill and a summary are posted at the DU Corporate Governance web site.