Frank: No Overseas 'Escape Hatches' From US Financial Rules

[Purveyor]

By Jessica Holzer, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., said he would ensure foreign countries couldn't step in as " escape hatches" for companies seeking to avoid tougher U.S. financial rules.

Frank said financial regulatory overhaul legislation would contain instructions to the Federal Reserve and Treasury requiring them to deny access to the U.S. market to "any country around the world that holds itself up as an escape hatch from these regulations."

http://tinyurl.com/l6cphk

[Purveyor]

1. ALSO: US Rep Frank: Congress Won't Support 'Too Big To Fail' List

By Jessica Holzer, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, D- Mass., said Congress wouldn't support allowing the administration to maintain a list of 25 "too big to fail" firms.

"The general sense in Congress is that we will not have that list," Frank told an audience at the National Press Club Monday. "There will be no such list."

The administration is pushing for power to label certain financial institutions as so-called "Tier 1" financial firms whose failure could shock the financial system. Such firms would be subjected to stricter oversight and capital standards.

Frank said administration officials believe maintaining a list of Tier 1 or " too big to fail" firms would deter firms from growing large enough to be put on the list. But House lawmakers believe that companies on the list will gain competitive advantages from being on the list.

"Other people think the list would become the briar patch," he said.

Frank added, "Yes, there will be restrictions on leverage, but not one list."

http://tinyurl.com/l973wt

[JDPriestly]

2. Europeans are begging us to tighten our regulations and enforce them.

No problem with them.

[FarCenter]

4. The UK? Not so much

It is busy protecting the City of London, and its financial firms from regulation.

Plus it is unlikely to give up its traditional tax havens such as the Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Cayman Islands, etc., which server both NY and London firms.

Besides, it has to compete with Singapore, Hong Kong, Abu Dabhi, etc. as a center of trading activity.

It is the continental Europeans who are supporting regulation, not the Anglo-American crowd.

[JDPriestly]

5. Agreed, FarCenter. I was thinking of Sarkozy in particular.

[librechik]

3. Good luck with that, Barney. Really

and let me know how we're doing on our quest to find out who they gave our TARP money too.

If only our watchdogs had a bunch of mean pals. Then maybe they could do more than talk about what needs to be done. But never really do it.