Washington, D.C. – Senators Jeff Merkley and Carl Levin responded today to a report from the Financial Stability Oversight Council recommending how to best implement the Merkley-Levin provisions of financial reform that restrict high-risk trading and conflicts of interest:
“The Financial Services Oversight Council today put forward its study on how best to implement protections against high risk trading and conflicts of interest that played a central role in the recent financial crisis,” Senator Merkley said. “It is now up to the regulatory agencies to fully outline how they will guard against Wall Street practices that put the investments of American families and businesses at risk. Reducing hidden risks and dangerous conflicts of interest at our nation’s most important financial institutions is key to ending the boom and bust cycle on Wall Street. Such actions will be essential to creating jobs on Main Street and restoring a sound economy.”
“Today, the FSOC offered thoughts on how best to restrict U.S. banks from engaging in the types of high risk proprietary trading and conflicts of interest that contributed to the recent financial crisis,” said Senator Levin. “The next step is for each regulator to propose a system for effectively policing the new restrictions that forces firms and regulators to make clear determinations based on detailed analyses of the firms’ positions and risks in order to avoid the kinds of risky financial behavior and conflicts of interests that helped drive our economy into a deep ditch.”