Posts Tagged ‘Congress’
This Is How It Ends
It ends with President Trump leaving office before his full term, of course. I don’t know exactly how he’ll leave, or when. But the crucial question isn’t whether Trump’s departure is imminent; the question is whether his departure is inevitable. So just ask yourself: Do you really believe this man can fulfill his full four-year…
Read MoreDodd-Frank Reform Starts Coming Into View
Word has emerged about how House Republicans want to revise the Dodd-Frank Act and repeal various financial regulations. Compliance officers wondering how these ideas might affect them can dive in. The key player here is Rep. Jeb Hensarling, chair of the House Financial Services Committee. Hensarling first proposed a “Financial Choice Act” last year to…
Read MoreEthics, Politics, and Optics in New Washington
The farce that unfolded in the House of Representatives this week over the independent Office of Congressional Ethics is an important reminder for compliance professionals—of just how weak the Republican grasp on power actually is, and how much (or how little) Washington might accomplish in the coming year. What happened, essentially, was this. First, Republicans lawmakers…
Read MoreCompliance in the Trump Era, Part III: Legislation
Today we continue our series on compliance in the Trump Era by looking at what could happen with Washington politics. Compliance officers might wish that’s something you can ignore, something that exists on a plane beyond your world of internal investigations, whistleblower complaints, and regulatory probes. No such luck. Republicans and the Trump Administration have…
Read MoreTwo Election Items for Compliance Officers to Watch
Now that election season is upon us, compliance professionals have a few races worth watching in Washington. The outcomes could have profound implications for financial regulation starting next January. First is the intriguing case of Rep. Scott Garrett, a New Jersey Republican who serves on the House Financial Services Committee and chairs the Sub-committee on…
Read MoreFive Questions for Our SEC Commissioner Nominees
You may have missed this news, but in a startling turn of events, the Senate Banking Committee has actually decided to do its job: the committee will hold hearings this week for two nominees to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Hester Peirce and Lisa Fairfax. The committee had delayed hearings on Peirce and Fairfax for…
Read MoreReforming Dodd-Frank (When the Law Works)
Let me begin this column with a personal disclosure: I refinanced my house in December. So I have first-hand knowledge of just how frustrating compliance with modern mortgage lending can be, at least on the consumer side. Plenty of compliance officers also talk about the frustration of compliance burdens on the lender side, and how…
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