The Deal
Saturday, November 21, 
3:07 pm

Sen. Schumer on Wall Street's coming regulatory reform

  Share     E-Mail    Discussion (2)     Print Story

Charles_Schumer.jpgSen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., the opening speaker at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association's Summit on the Troubled Asset Relief Program, answered the question of what financial markets should be expecting in terms of regulatory reform from the new Congress.  

"To be sure this is still a very stressful time for out financial system, but over time the strength of our society and systems will allow us to overcome this crisis," said Schumer, who went on to speculate that President-elect Barack Obama will choose a treasury secretary in the mold of Larry Summers.

Continue reading below

Also on Dealscape

Schumer continued on to say that the strength of the American financial system is built on a foundation of being pro-business and pro-regulation. "There's no tooth fairy, no Santa Claus, and no financial instrument that creates rewards without risk," he added.

"The overhaul of the financial regulation system will be a major priority of the new Congress and is something we'll be starting on this session, but threading the needle between regulationary oversight and freedom for business is very difficult." Schumer warned. "The new regulatory systems must have the technology and authority to question and understand the risks that those they oversee are taking."

To that end, Schumer advocated the creation of a single regulatory body for the U.S. financial system similar to the one in the U.K. 

"A regulatory framework that fails to recognize the global nature of financial firms will not be able to handle the task," Schumer said. "Our financial system has evolved into a system where there are a number of financial Jupiters orbited by asteroids. Today these firms don't operate in the same old ways, the rules do."

Schumer outlined six principles he thinks Congress must adhere for regulatory reform:

1. A  focus on controlling systemic risk. Even private equity firms and hedge funds can create systemic risk and "cannot escape regulation."

2. Unification of regulation. "We must consider creating a single regulatory authority. We should look closely at the single regulator in the U.K. This allows the regulator to concentrate on risks not rules. A single regulator would avoid the regulatory arbitrage that takes place, as less responsible firms are able to play regulators off against each other."

3. "We have to figure out how to regulate currently unregulated actors and exotic financial instruments. There should be clear, unambiguous authority."

4. A global market, requires global regulation. "If we regulate derivatives here unilaterally, the market may simply move to another country with lesser regulation, which ends up costing jobs in the U.S. without reducing risks to the system." He mentioned possible spots such as London or Hong Kong as places where derivatives trading could move, contradicting himself somewhat as minutes earlier he cited the strong regulation on the U.K. from its central entity.

5. "Increased transparency must be a central goal for the reformed regulatory system."

6. "The laissez-faire view of the Bush administration that no regulation is good has got to go. I hope that we've learned that while deregulation may seem like a good idea in good times, the consequences of it end up being severe."

- George White


Strong regulation of PE and hedge funds likely on the way
RBC's Gerard Cassidy: TARP will slow M&A
Neel Kashkari on the bailout's progress

 





Comments

From: joe,

Schumer is clueless, talking out of both sides of his mouth, and thinks the rest of us are stupid.
Saying "We have to figure out how to regulate currently unregulated actors and exotic financial instruments," to THIS audience is effectively saying "HELP!I'm in over my head. I have to pretend I had no idea what you guys have been up to. I need you to write the regulations for me in language I can sell. It doesn't have to be effective, we just have to sell it! And I will be expecting buckets of money from you guys when I ram this through."
Not a single specific regulatory idea. As if there haven't a multitude of derivatives related crisis in the past 15 years that created systemic risk. And on top of it, he suggests a Treasury Secretary "in the mold of Larry Summers," a guy who was deeply against regulation of derivatives when he worked in Treasury in the 90's.


From: Jay,

In the latest news concerning the financial meltdown Schumer who has often bragged about his intellectual abilities, now is saying that he did not understand the risks and the devices that the financial companies were using and he was protecting through deregulation. I would argue that Schumer can't have it both ways in intelligence and ignorance. I would suggest that instead of ignorance this Senator like the ladies of the street sold his services and intelligence to the highest bidder as often as he could.


Post a comment





The Deal Pipeline

Deal Video


Inside The Deal: Avaya Inc.'s Mohamad Ali on the company's next target.


More video...

Crisis On Wall Street
Technology
Deals of The Decade

Community

Industry Insight

Managing your shareholder base

Growth companies and their PE sponsors should be wary of the pitfalls that arise when they layer on tiers of preferred stock.


Industry Insight

Easing the stress of distressed M&A

Corporate buyers face numerous complexities when trying to identify the right moment to purchase a distressed asset.


Editor's Note

Editor's letter: Nov. 16, 2009

Beneath the veneer of Wall Streeters beats the same heart, stirred by the same determinants of behavior.


footspacer.jpg footspacer.jpg footspacer.jpg footspacer.jpg footspacer.jpg


©Copyright 2009, The Deal, LLC. All rights reserved. Please send all technical questions, comments or concerns to the Webmaster.