A culture shift is still needed to reconnect finance with the real economy.
Financial Regulation
Richard Cordray Approved as Consumer Watchdog Director: Why You Should Care
Yesterday, the Senate voted to proceed with the nomination of Richard Cordray to direct the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), then approved him later in the day on a 66-34 vote. The move has the potential to benefit everybody with a mortgage, credit card or private student loan. In other words: you.
Regulatory Rumpus: The Battle Over Reinstating Glass-Steagall
Among the small number of Americans who are passionate about financial regulation, no topic raises hackles more than the so-called Glass-Steagall act. It is “so-called” because when you hear the term “Glass-Steagall” the speaker is most certainly referring to four provisions from the Banking Act of 1933, which was sponsored by Senators
…
Regulators Finally Start Standing Up to Big Banks
As we near the three-year anniversary of President Obama signing the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill into law, the too-big-to-fail banks that percipitated the crisis are bigger and more powerful than ever. Though the new legislation does arm regulators with more powers that may prevent a large financial institution’s failure from …
20 Words That Will Make or Break Financial Reform
Correction appended: July 8, 2013, 9:46 p.m. E.T.
Derivatives, those complex exploding financial securities that were at the heart of the 2008 Lehman Brothers collapse and global financial crisis, have been at the top of bank reformers’ agenda over the past five years. Figuring out a way to make them — and thus our financial …
Insider Trading: Bad, But Not the Real Scourge of Wall Street
Americans hate cheaters, and they don’t like those who have an unfair advantage, which is why when you ask most people about insider trading, they’ll usually say that the perpetrators belong in jail.
To that end, the biggest
…
Wall Street Cop Goes After Corzine — and Derivatives Loopholes
Gary Gensler, the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, has been the toughest cop in D.C. since the financial crisis, and the only person really willing to take on Wall Street. Although his term may soon be coming to an end, the CFTC yesterday showed it still has plenty of bite left by suing Jon Corzine, the former New …
Breaking Securities Laws? You Don’t Really Need To Apologize
Just two months into her tenure as head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mary Jo White is making waves by questioning the agency’s long-standing policy of not requiring admissions of guilt when settling with financial wrongdoers.
Will Wall Street Finally Put Clients First? Maybe Some Day — But Don’t Hold Your Breath
Efforts to compel all financial advisers to act in the best interest of their clients have been derailed–again.
China, the U.S. and a Special Relationship in the Making: 5 Shared Economic Challenges
As President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping settle into conversation in California for the weekend, there’s talk of a new kind of G-2 alliance between the nations, and even a “grand bargain” over issues like trade, …
Money Talking: Should Firms Have to Disclose Political Donations?
Joe Nocera (NYT) and Rana Foroohar (Time) join Charlie Herman (WNYC) on Money Talking discuss the if the SEC will require publicly traded companies to disclose politically spending. Good for business or politics as usual?
A Nation of Renters: Should We Be Worried That Fewer Americans Own Homes?
Big Wall Street banks and consumer-advocacy groups like the Center for Responsible Lending don’t agree on much. But recently, these strange bedfellows have been brought together by their opposition to new rules governing …