The Chamber will defend America’s financial institutions and our capital markets from destructive attacks. We should be praising and perfecting our capital markets as a crown jewel of our economic system—not trying to tear them down.
Many of the reforms implemented in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis were narrowly focused on financial stability and did not consider the impact on economic growth. The unintended consequences of these initiatives have made it difficult for Main Street businesses to access the financing they need to get started, sustain operations, manage cash, make payroll, and create well-paying jobs. This publication includes recommendations to restore Main Street lending.
With this agenda, we provide some answers and suggestions for the executive and legislative branches and regulatory agencies, both domestic and global.
The U.S. Chamber surveyed more than 300 corporate finance professionals about their core financial services needs and the indirect regulatory impact of all the newly adopted financial regulations. What we heard was a particularly strong and growing concern for the ability of businesses to access credit and to manage cash flow and liquidity due to existing and pending regulations.
Read the Report | Check out the infographic
| Financial Services Survey: For Small Businesses, Growth and Credit Go Hand-in-Hand Results
A financial services survey conducted by Morning Consult shows that, small business leaders feel optimistic about the future of their enterprises and view support from financial services as critical to their ability to expand and succeed. The results, released at the U.S. Chamber’s 11th annual Capital Markets Summit, underscore the importance of access to capital for businesses, especially smaller firms. For Small Businesses, Growth and Credit Go Hand-in-Hand Infographic |
Preserving the Right to be Heard: Ensure there is an open and vigorous debate about how best to regulate financial markets by fighting bad choices and pushing back on those who seek to intimidate and suppress real debate.
Show the Impact, Starting at the Local Level: Document and communicate the cumulative impact of regulation, including the ability of companies small and large to access the financial services they need to grow their business and manage their financial risks.
Advance Transparent Regulation, at the Federal Reserve and elsewhere: Ensure that the Federal Reserve lives up to the same standards of transparency and due process required of other regulators. Also, address conflicts and lack of coordination among the regulators and advance reform recommendations at the SEC, FSOC, and proxy advisory firms. On July 12, the Chamber released its Federal Reserve Reform Agenda, which recommended eight reforms the Federal Reserve could take to be more transparent and accountable in its regulation of America’s financial markets and the Main Street businesses that rely on it. You can read the full agenda here.
Directly Engage on Regulations that Thwart Main Street Growth: Challenge policies that prevent businesses from obtaining credit or managing cash, such as, Basel III capital rules, stress tests, and the Volcker Rule. Other priorities include: incentive compensation, the Department of Labor’s fiduciary duty rule, and the CFPB’s arbitration rule.
Prevent the Use of Financial Services and Budgetary Slush Funds at the Federal and State Level: Fight punitive taxes and stop enforcement practices by multiple layers of federal, state, and international officials. Continue to push for SEC enforcement reforms including due process, preservation of jury trial, and right of removal.
This letter has been sent to Representative Meeks in support of the introduction of the “Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act of 2019,”
This letter was sent to the House Committee on Financial Services on several bills in Committee markup today.
It’s time to stand tall and punch back against the onslaught of abuse aimed at public companies.
This letter was sent to the members of the House Committee on Financial Services in support of several bills that the Committee is marking up this morning: H.R. 4861, the "Ensuring Quality Unbiased Access to Loans (EQUAL) Act of 2018"; H.R. 5051, the "Public Company Registration Threshold Act"; H.R. 4659, "to require the appropriate Federal banking agencies to recognize the exposure-reducing nature of client margin for cleared derivates"; and H.R. 5323, the "Derivatives Fairness Act."
In a heartening display of bipartisan cooperation, the U.S. Senate passed a badly needed fix to banking regulations.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Chamber President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue issued the following statement today in response to U.S. Senate passage of S. 2155, the “Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act,” which will alleviate regulatory burdens for America’s local and community banks:
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce supports S. 2155, the “Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act,” which would better tailor regulations for community and regional banks. The Chamber will consider including votes on, or in relation to, this bill in our annual How They Voted scorecard.
This letter in support of S. 2155, the "Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act," was sent to members of the Senate Banking Committee.
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS: We, the undersigned chambers of commerce that represent thousands of small businesses and entrepreneurs in communities across the country, urge you to develop and pass commonsense financial reform that removes obstacles to funding Main Street businesses and unlocks economic growth.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Chamber’s Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness (CCMC) today released a series of recommendations for revitalizing Main Street lending in order to enable small businesses to create jobs, raise incomes, and generate economic growth.
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