Sweeping Financial Reform Signed into Law
In response to the financial industry meltdown of 2008, yesterday President Obama signed into law what he described as "the strongest consumer financial protections in history."
The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, contains numerous provisions regulating the financial services industry. Many organizations and individual advocates in the VITA and asset building community, participated in efforts to push strong reforms forward. After two years of debate and negotiations, the final bill contained provisions that will impact various areas of the financial industry.
According to reports by Ballard Spahr the new reforms will impact specific sectors of industry, including:
- Consumer Protections: It requires the creation of a new federal regulator, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Consumer advocates and the Obama Administration had fought for an independent agency. However, the Federal Reserve Board is prohibited from intervening in the CFPB's rulemaking, examinations, and enforcement actions, and from appointing or removing any CFPB employees.
- Bank Regulation: The federal banking agencies will be reorganized and required to adhere to new limitations. Read More.
- Credit Rating Agencies: The SEC will now have more authority to regulate nationally recognized rating organizations.
For additional information on the implications of the new regulations, visit Americans for Financial Reform or the complete reports from Ballard Spahr.
