US House Committee releases draft legislation on financial reform
On October 1, the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services released, among other bills, a discussion draft of the Investor Protection Act. The IPA is intended to strengthen the powers of the Securities and Exchange Commission, while enhancing the SEC's enforcement powers and funding. Further, under the draft bill, all financial intermediaries that provide advice would have a fiduciary duty toward their customers and the SEC would also be granted the authority to prohibit or impose limitations on arbitration clauses respecting customer contracts.
On October 2, meanwhile, the Committee circulated a discussion draft of legislation intended to regulate over-the-counter derivatives. According to a committee member, the OTC bill "moves us in the right direction by reducing risk to the economy with robust and dynamic oversight of major market participants, while preserving appropriate risk-management tools for end users." The Committee is began meeting yesterday to discuss the OTC bill.
