Who Regulates Whom? An Overview of the U.S. Financial Regulatory Framework

"The financial regulatory system has been described as fragmented, with multiple overlapping regulators and a dual state-federal regulatory system. The system evolved piecemeal, punctuated by major changes in response to various historical financial crises. The most recent financial crisis also resulted in changes to the regulatory system through the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act; P.L. 111-203) and the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA; P.L. 110-289). To address the fragmented nature of the system, the Dodd-Frank Act created the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), a council of regulators and experts chaired by the Treasury Secretary.
At the federal level, regulators can be clustered in the following areas:
 Depository regulators—Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and Federal Reserve for banks; and National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) for credit unions;
 Securities markets regulators—Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC);
 Government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) regulators—Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), created by HERA, and Farm Credit Administration (FCA); and
 Consumer protection regulator—Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), created by the Dodd-Frank Act..."
U.S. Financial Regulation

Reforming Wall Street Protecting Main Street

 A U.S. Department of the Treasury's presentation highlighting Wall Street reforms enacted
since July 2010.

GOVERNMENTAL RESCUES OF “TOO-BIG-TO-FAIL” FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
"This preliminary staff report is submitted to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC)
and the public for information, review, and comment. Comments can be submitted through
the FCIC’s website, www.fcic.gov.

This document has not been approved by the Commission.

The report provides background factual information to the Commission on subject matters
that are the focus of the FCIC’s public hearing on September 1, 2010. In particular, this
report provides information on governmental rescues of “Too-Big-to-Fail” financial institutions. Staff will provide investigative findings as well as additional information on these subject matters to the Commission over the course of the FCIC’s tenure.

Deadline for Comment: September 30, 2010"

H.R. 4173 Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010
"...CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimate that enacting H.R. 4173 would
increase revenues by $12.1 billion over the 2011-2015 period and by $33.5 billion over
the 2011-2020 period and increase direct spending by $25.0 billion and $53.2 billion over
the same periods, respectively. In total, CBO estimates those changes would increase
budget deficits by $12.9 billion over the 2011-2015 period and by $19.7 billion over the
2011-2020 period. In addition, CBO estimates that implementing the act would increase
spending subject to appropriation by $4.6 billion over the 2011-2015 period and
$13.2 billion over the 2011-2020 period..."

Financial Regulatory Reform and the 111th Congress
"Financial regulatory reform is being discussed in the 111th Congress, the continuation of a policy debate that began before the September 2008 financial disruption. For example, Treasury
Secretary Henry Paulson issued a blueprint for financial reform in March 2008. In September
2008, after this blueprint was issued but before congressional action, the financial system suffered severe distress as Lehman Brothers and AIG failed. This financial panic accelerated the review of financial regulation and refocused some of the policy debate on areas that experienced the most distress.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner issued a new reform plan in June 2009. House committees
initially reviewed many related bills on an issue-by-issue basis. House Financial Services
Committee Chairman Barney Frank then consolidated proposals into a comprehensive bill, the
Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 (H.R. 4173) and the House passed the
bill on December 11, 2009. H.R. 4173 as passed contains elements of H.R. 1728, H.R. 2571, H.R.
2609, H.R. 3126, H.R. 3269, H.R. 3817, H.R. 3818, H.R. 3890, and H.R. 3996. On March 22,
2010, the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee amended and ordered reported
Chairman Christopher Dodd’s Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 (RAFSA)..."