U.S. Chamber Highlights Regulatory Tsunami To Follow Financial Reform Bill

Uncertainty Created by 355 New Rulemakings, 47 Studies, and 74 Reports

WASHINGTON, D.C.—As the House and Senate considers the financial reform legislation agreed to by the Conference Committee, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today  highlighted to lawmakers the regulatory tsunami that will develop from the conference base text, including 355 potential new rulemakings, 47 studies, and 74 reports—and potentially dozens more as implementation begins.

“This tsunami of new rules and studies will perpetuate uncertainty and fail to provide clear rules of the road,” said David Hirschmann, president and CEO of the Chamber’s Capital Markets Center. “Business needs certainty, and we urge Congress to provide as much clarity as possible to ill-defined terms that would otherwise be left to regulators and litigators to define over the course of several years.”

The Chamber plans to highlight this data for Congress this week. By comparison, Sarbanes-Oxley only had 16 rulemakings and six studies and took more than two years to write the rules.

“Through the sheer breadth of these changes we’re not providing clear rules of the road for businesses in the financial system,” Hirschmann said. “This will make it more difficult for the capital formation needed for job creation to occur.”

View the full chart here: http://www.uschamber.com/assets/ccmc/100628_finreg_table.pdf

Since its inception three years ago, the Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness has led a bipartisan effort to modernize and strengthen the outmoded regulatory systems that have governed our capital markets. The CCMC is committed to working aggressively with the administration, Congress, and global leaders to implement reforms to strengthen the economy, restore investor confidence, and ensure well-functioning capital markets.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.

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