Preparing for Life After Financial Reform -- An Overview of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
Home | Intro | Title I | Title II | Title III | Title IV | Title V | Title VI | Title VIITitle VIII | Title IX | Title X | Title XI | Title XII | Title XIII | Title XIV | Conclusion
Introduction
The Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Act”) is the most dramatic financial services law since the Great Depression. This massive piece of legislation impacts banks, thrift institutions, insurance companies, hedge funds, rating agencies, nondepository financial service providers and the regulators who have, or will now, supervise these entities. Mortgage loans, securities, derivatives, insurance products, credit cards, commercial loans and consumer loans will all be delivered under a new set of rules. One notable point about this new law is that the exact nature and extent of these changes cannot be found within the more than 2,300 pages of this new law. Guidance as to the full detail of this financial reform bill will be ascertained only when countless rules, regulations, studies, reports and interpretations come into focus over the coming months and years.
Accordingly, the following overview provides a high level analysis of the 14 financial reform-related titles of the Act. For those who wish to delve into the Act itself, links to the titles are included. Be forewarned, despite the Act’s objective of increasing “transparency”, the Act is not written in “plain language”. We will be issuing periodic updates about the Act as the law evolves. Our attorneys are available at all times to help our clients understand, prepare for, and comply with the new legislation.
TITLE II – ORDERLY LIQUIDATION AUTHORITY
TITLE IV – REGULATION OF ADVISERS TO HEDGE FUNDS AND OTHERS
TITLE VII – WALL STREET TRANSPARENCY
TITLE VIII – PAYMENT, CLEARING, AND SETTLEMENT SUPERVISION
TITLE IX – INVESTOR PROTECTIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS TO THE REGULATION OF SECURITIES
TITLE X – BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION
TITLE XI – FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM PROVISIONS
TITLE XII – IMPROVING ACCESS TO MAINSTREAM FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
TITLE XIV – MORTGAGE REFORM AND ANTI-PREDATORY LENDING ACT
Concluding CommentThe Act, officially Public Law 111-203 and also referred to as H.R. 4173, contains hundreds of provisions designed to improve the U.S. financial system. While these provisions have sweeping implications for financial institutions and the U.S. economy, only time will tell if this landmark law will achieve its principal stated purpose of promoting the financial stability of the United States. Meanwhile, financial service providers, their customers, and all of those who work with providers or consumers of financial services and products will need to adapt to the changing financial services landscape. In that regard, it is hoped that the financial stability sought by the Act will foster economic growth and that the proliferation of new rules, regulations, and changes in regulatory bodies and process will not have the opposite effect.
For more information, please contact Norman H. Roos, chair of Robinson & Cole's Finance Practice Group, at (860) 275-8358. Mr. Roos has been advising banks, insurance companies, diversified financial service companies, and other publicly and privately held entities on a broad range of regulatory and transactional matters for over 30 years. Mr. Roos has served as the chair of the Financial Institutions and Consumer Law Sections of the Connecticut Bar Association and currently serves as general counsel to the Connecticut Mortgage Bankers Association, Inc., and as a member of the Board of Regents and the Connecticut state chair of the American College of Mortgage Attorneys.
