I thought I would try and give you some insight into what is happening on the ground, so to say, at the SEC as well as highlight some of the implications and implementation issues flowing from the new Dodd-Frank law. Some of these issues are worth closely noting because I believe they signal important shifts in how we have historically regulated our financial markets and raise serious questions about how such a shift will affect investor choice and protection, U.S. capital formation, innovation and competitiveness.
It’s early Spring in Washington, and while that means March Madness and filling out NCAA tournament brackets to most people, at the SEC it means filling out ambitious Dodd-Frank rulemaking mandates. Personally, I am a hockey fan, so I wouldn’t know better anyway.
That said, in many ways, I think it is hard for people to appreciate the enormity of what Dodd-Frank requires of federal regulators, and, in particular, the SEC. In terms of breadth and scope, Dodd-Frank is arguably the most significant financial legislation in modern history. The legislation ushers in a breathtaking amount of changes that will result in fundamental shifts in the legal, regulatory and policy landscape affecting our markets and our economy in a short period of time. These changes touch every aspect of our financial markets, from consumer credit to proprietary trading at financial firms, from OTC derivatives markets to securitization markets, and from private fund registration and regulation to corporate governance at public companies.
