By Rep. Lynn Westmoreland On Wednesday, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on H.R. 3461, a bill to improve the examination of depository institutions, and featured testimony from representatives from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Reserve Board, and the National Credit Union Administration, as well as testimony from several bank executives. I’ve sat in many of these hearings and listened to these Washington regulators claim they are working to resolve their problems or just had them pass the ... Read More »
By Paul Sperry, for Investor’s Business Daily http://news.investors.com/ArticlePrint.aspx?id=593669 Job-killing bank regulations threaten to wipe out all the gains in private-sector employment since the recovery began, the industry warns. Washington, however, is hiring thousands more bureaucrats to enforce the rules. Signed into law last year, the Dodd-Frank Act is the biggest rewrite of financial regulations since the New Deal. It was intended to rein in Wall Street "excesses." But the banking industry says burdensome red tape is hurting economic growth and jobs in a still-sluggish labor mark... Read More »
The Committee on Financial Services held a field hearing on “Regulatory Reform: Examining How New Regulations are Impacting Financial Institutions, Small Businesses and Consumers in Illinois” earlier today. At this hearing, representatives from community financial institutions and small businesses explained how new financial regulations are affecting the ability of financial institutions to extend credit and stimulate job growth. The Committee also explored the effect of stringent federal bank examinations—examinations that some financial institutions contend may be overzealous—on economic rec... Read More »
INFLATION JOBS CPI Index Inflation Monthly -0.1 (October) Inflation Annual +3.5% (October) Unemployment Rate (monthly) 9.0% (October) Jobless Claims (monthly) 406,000 (October 29) Personal Income (monthly) 0.1% (September) Job Growth (monthly) +80,000 (October) GDP and DEBT OTHER Real GDP (updated quarterly) +2.5% (Q3 2011) Curent Dollar GDP in billions (updated quarterly) $15,198.6 billion Federal Deficit (updated monthly) 15,033.6 billion (November) Home ownership Rate (quarterly) 66.3% Q3 2011 data Interest Rate- Intended Federal Funds Rate 0.08 (November 16th) Read More »
With 14 million Americans out of work and the Obama Administration issuing regulations at a rate of one new rule every 2 hours and 20 minutes, it’s a question that must be asked. For the Obama Administration, the answer to the question is a resounding “No!” Dr. Jan Eberly, Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the Treasury Department, writes in a blog post that the massive amounts of red tape raining down from the administration are not hurting the economy. Dr. Eberly cites a survey of economists to back up this claim. One of the biggest failures of the Obama Administration is its determi... Read More »
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would be strengthened – not weakened – if its leadership structure were changed to a bipartisan commission, argues Roland E. Brandel in the American Banker. Calling the vesting of the bureau’s enormous power in a single person a “serious flaw,” the highly acclaimed consumer financial services lawyer writes: “A single director, no matter how intelligent, how well educated, how experienced, how well-meaning, and how well supported by staff, research and studies, faces limitations every human faces with respect to each of such qualifications. If the ultima... Read More »
Obama Administration officials are frantically trying to convince the public that the 400 new regulations tucked inside the 2,300-page Dodd-Frank Act are having absolutely no impact on small town and mid-sized banks. None. Whatsoever. So just move on, OK? Nothing to see here. But, what are community bankers saying? A much different story in congressional testimony and in statements to their local newspapers: One community banker from Illinois said, “The Dodd-Frank Act will add an additional, enormous burden, has stimulated an environment of uncertainty, and has added new risks that will inevit... Read More »
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner offered a revealing insight into the Obama Administration’s attitude about regulations on Thursday when he testified before the Financial Services Committee. After Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Randy Neugebauer told the Secretary he is worried about the cumulative impact that the Dodd-Frank Act’s 400 regulations will have on the economy, Secretary Geithner responded: “I think you are too worried about the cumulative impact of these financial reforms on the basic business of finance in the United States.” As the exchange with Rep. Neugeba... Read More »
H.R. 2167, introduced by Rep. David Schweikert, removes an impediment to capital formation for small companies by raising the shareholder threshold for mandatory registration with the SEC from 500 to 1,000 shareholders. The shareholder threshold was originally adopted in 1964 and has not been modernized since then. At a recent hearing, the Committee received testimony from witnesses regarding the impact the bill will have on the availability of credit for small companies, job creation, and economic growth. Upon approval by the Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee, ... Read More »
H.R. 2940, introduced by Rep. Kevin McCarthy, removes the regulatory ban that prevents small, privately held companies from using advertisements to solicit investors for private offerings. Securities laws not only prohibit general solicitation and advertising but require investors to have an existing relationship with the company in order to meet SEC exemption requirements. This ban has limited the ability of small businesses to raise capital. On October 5th, the Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee approved H.R. 2940 by a voice vote. After Subcommittee passage, Ma... Read More »
