Crapo Releases Financial Services Reform Recommendations

Washington, DC â?? Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, who is heading up a financial services regulatory reform effort for the Senate Banking Committee, today released a matrix detailing a lengthy list of proposals and the support or opposition from a number of regulatory agencies. The matrix lists more than 130 proposals that were part of a June 2004 Senate Banking Committee hearing. It should be noted that not every proposal lists support or opposition from the federal and state regulators involved with the review.During the June hearing, Crapo agreed to coordinate the effort to find consensus on financial services regulatory relief. This matrix is part of that effort, and Crapo expects to collect similar data from the financial services industry.In releasing this information today, Crapo reiterated his concerns about burdensome regulations faced in todayâ??s financial services industry. â??While there are no definitive studies on the total cost of banking regulation, estimates run between $26 billion and $40 billion annually to comply with banking regulatory requirements. Too many of those regulations are outdated, ineffective, or unduly burdensome and therefore no longer justified in todayâ??s market. Consumers no doubt bear additional costs from these regulations. When regulatory burdens are excessive and fail to add net value, they take a toll on the competitiveness of our financial system and squander scarce resources that could otherwise be devoted to productive activities, such as making loans and extending credit to small businesses and potential homeowners. â??I appreciate the cooperation and hard work of so many involved, particularly FDIC Vice Chairman John Reich who spearheaded this effort on my behalf. It is imperative that we enact enough meaningful reforms so that the cost of change isnâ??t a burden in and of itself. While finding a consensus on these issues may be difficult, I look forward to continuing that process and working with interested parties to put together a regulatory relief proposal before Congress adjourns for the year.â?? If receiving this information over e-mail, click here to view the report, which is accessible at http://crapo.senate.gov/media/2004/August/Reg_Relief_Matrix.pdf. The file is quite large at 3.7 MB and may take some time to download. If you wish a hard copy to be faxed to you, please contact Susan Wheeler at the above number.# # #