7 Things to Know About the Financial Regulation Bill

7 Things to Know About the Financial Regulation Bill

With all of the Occupy Wall Street movement calling for more financial regulation, we thought it would be a good time to have a closer look at the Financial Regulation Bill signed into law by President Obama in July of 2010.  Because it is the most sweeping overhaul of the markets since the Great Depression, it is definitely worth looking at.

1. It’s 2,319 pages long – As with any bill coming out of Congress these days, it’s thousands of pages long.  Also called the Dodd Frank Act, it was championed by Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Representative Barney Frank.
2. New agencies – Again as with most bills, there are the establishment of agencies designed to help implement the policies.  A few new offices include the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, the Financial Stability Oversight Council, and the Office of Financial Research.
3. Mergers – As part of the bill, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Office of Thrift Supervision, FDIC, and Federal Reserve must submit plans for merger, which is expected to be followed by an actual merger.
4. Interest on business checking – Have a business checking account you wish you could earn interest on?  Starting July of 2011, banks are now permitted to pay interest on business checking accounts.
5. Debit card limits – Because of the many complaints consumers had against debit cards, the new law addresses them.  There are now rules to keep fees “reasonable and proportional” to the transactions.  However, there are exemptions for government issued cards and those issued by banks with less than $10 billion in assets.
6. Public disclosure – Ever wanted to know how much top level executives were being paid?  Then this law regarding executive compensation will be good news.  The SEC is now required to publicly disclose executive compensation and even median compensation of all employees.
7. No Fannie or Freddie – These housing lending giants are often accused of being the catalysts to the economic downfall in 2008.  However, this large reform bill does not address the policies, practices, or even funding of these major institutions.

Molly Mitchell is a Economics graduate student and also owns the site Economics Colleges. Her site helps students find the right Economics Degree to fit their needs.