The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (henceforth, the “Dodd-Frank Act”), was signed into law by President Obama on Wednesday July 21, 2010. The Act spans over 2,300 pages and affects almost every aspect of the U.S. financial services industry. The objectives ascribed to the Act by its proponents in Congress and by the President include restoring public confidence in the financial system, preventing another financial crisis, and allowing any future asset bubble to be detected and deflated before another financial crisis ensues.
The Dodd-Frank Act effects a profound increase in regulation of the financial services industry. The Act gives U.S. governmental authorities more funding, more information and more power. In broad and significant areas, the Act endows regulators with wholly discretionary authority to write and interpret new rules.
