Corporate Accountability

The Financial Reform bill has been passed by both houses of Congress and now awaits President Obama's signature. When the President signs his name, the new law will be the biggest improvement to regulation of the financial industry in generations. It's a big change with a lot to it, but reigning in Wall Street and the excesses of finance will not be accomplished with one new law alone. But for now, it's time to celebrate what truly is an historic victory.

Of the many good things in the final package, the new consumer protections may be the sweetest. The new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau made it through in a reasonably strong form, and has a chance to truly protect consumers from many of the abuses that plumped up bank profits and bonuses at the expense of the public. Members of UFE and our Responsible Wealth project deserve to be particularly proud for standing up for the consumer financial protection in this bill.

Chris Sturr at Dollars and Sense (a magazine you should subscribe to if you don't already) runs down some more details. He links to an excellent explanation of what's in the bill, what got cut out, and what never even had a chance.

Some more reactions:

• Shahien Nasiripour (who has also become a must read) teams with Ryan Grim at the Huffington Post for a wrap up on passage of financial reform.

• Ezra Klein highlights some of the positives.

• Simon Johnson is hard to please, but he sees some encouraging similarities to past regulatory efforts.

• And Kevin Drum made a good the case for the bill when it's passage was still, at least somewhat, in doubt.

Over at The American Prospect, Tim Fernholz provides a thorough rundown of how the financial reform conference committee will work. The whole piece is worth reading. If you don't have time, here's one key point:

The committee will use the Senate bill, with a few House-bill substitutions, as the default working text, which gives an advantage to reformers, since the Senate bill -- which includes the Volcker rule and tough derivatives-reform provisions -- is stronger than the House bill. 

The final bill is likely to be far closer to the Senate version than the House bill, because the unified bill will again need to clear the 60 vote hurdle in the Senate but will only need a simple majority in the House.

Some key points of what is in and what will be debated are below:

Consumer Protection is in and will stay there, but whether it's a standalone Agency (as in the House bill) or a Bureau housed at the Fed (as in the Senate version) is up for debate. The likely outcome is that this hot button issue will hew closely or exactly to the Senate version in order to hold the coalition of Senators necessary to prevent a filibuster. A standalone agency is preferable, but the inclusion of meaningful protection for consumers of financial products looks like it will be one of the major victories of this effort. It's not time to celebrate until the bill is signed into law. Thanks are due to our members who raised their voices in support of it and to all of our coalition partners for getting it this far.

Say on Pay is in as well. There is nothing in either bill that will directly and concretely end the worst excesses of CEO pay and bonuses in the financial industry. Say on Pay is at least a step in the right direction. That's why we started sponsoring a series of Say on Pay shareholder resolutions last year. Our coalition helped to build momentum for the right of shareholder to have a say on the pay of top executives at publicly traded companies. It's good news that Say on Pay is about to become the law of the land for finance.

Derivatives Reform is the hottest topic for the conference committee. The Senate bill includes the Lincoln amendment on derivatives that the banks hate and one of the worlds greatest living economists loves. We know Senator Lincoln (D-AR) best for her disturbing pro-Walton stance against common sense and popular opinion on the estate tax. Her strong amendment on derivatives reform was a pleasant change of pace. Whether it makes it through the conference is one one of the more interesting questions for the bill. Whatever the fate of the Lincoln amendment, it is great news that the requirement that derivates be traded through a clearinghouse will almost certainly make it into the final bill.

More Details: Annie Lowrey has the schedule. And the Washington Post put out a nice summary of some of the differences to be resolved between the House and Senate bills. Mike Konczal has an excellent summary of some keys to what's at stake in the conference committee. 

On May 21, the Senate voted to pass an overhaul financial regulations in response to the financial crisis that brought on the Great Recession. The House of representatives passed their version of financial reform months ago. Progress is being made, but the job is far from done.

As you may recall, merely passing the two houses of Congress is not all it takes for a bill to become law (or if you're not from the School House Rock generation, this chart shows the lawmaking process about as clearly as it can be presented). Conference committee to combine the House and Senate version, a vote in the House and votes in the Senate on the unified bill remain before financial reform makes it to the President's desk.

The conference committee schedule has been set in the hope of getting President Obama's signature on a financial reform bill before the July 4th Congressional recess. The first meeting will be this Thursday June 10th. And thanks to the pressure from many reform-minded activists and the public, much of the negotiations will be open to the public and televised. You can watch live at SunlightFoudnation.com with context about committee members top donors.

Whatever the result of the conference committee, the law that emerges will not end the need for systemic reform of the financial industry. The House and Senate bills have many good things in them but leave many of the problems with the financial sector entirely unaddressed. Read more >>

Bankers, Brokers, Bubbles & Bailouts - an Economic Crisis Workshop

This workshop is part of the United Methodist Women's 2010 Quadrennial Assembly

April 29 through May 2, 2010 in St.Louis, MO

Responsible Wealth and Walden Asset Management's shareholder resolution filed at microchip giant, Intel, has succeeded in halting the company's proposal to hold shareholder meetings exclusively online. RW and Walden advocate that in-person meetings play a significant role in holding management accountable by promoting dialogue amongst shareholders and between shareholders and management.

Responsible Wealth's shareholder resolution for a review of proxy voting practices at State Street Global Advisors garners a shift in the financial institution's policy. James McRitchie of CorpGov.net congratulates RW and Walden Asset Management for their sustained effort and recent success.

Business Owners, Executives and Investors – sign Responsible Wealth’s letter to the US Senate in support of legislation to create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA).

Former UFE board member Holly Sklar writes, "The Great Depression gave way to the New Deal. The Great Recession has become the Great Ripoff." She explains our misguided bank rescue plan and why we should crack a whip on Wall Street.

Authors of the Institute for Policy Studies report, Executive Excess 2009: America's Bailout Barons, call out pay czar Ken Feinberg for not acting boldly enough to rein in executive pay. Representatives from IPS and Responsible Wealth are available for interview on this breaking news in executive pay regulations.