 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
US lawmakers vote to curb firms 'too big to fail'
Washington (AFP) Dec 2, 2009 A US House of Representatives committee on Wednesday approved key regulatory legislation intended to curb the harmful economic effects of financial services institutions deemed "too big to fail." The bill, which is meant to keep the collapse of large institutions from provoking system-wide crises, passed in the Financial Services Committee by 31 votes to 27. The Financial Stability Improvement Act is part of the vast financial regulatory reform being championed by President Barack Obama. The legislation proposes to identify and subject "risky" firms to more scrutiny and regulation, specifically creating an inter-agency oversight council that would identify and monitor financial firms and activities. The bill aims to prevent the United States from being once again faced with the prospect of systemic economic chaos if large failing firms are not bailed out. "Currently there is no system in place to responsibly shut down a failing financial company like AIG or Lehman Brothers," a press statement said. "This bill establishes an orderly process for... dismantling any large failing financial institution in a way that protects taxpayers and minimizes the impact to the financial system." US insurance giant AIG teetered on the edge of financial disaster in September 2008, requiring a record 170 billion dollars in US government bailout funding to keep it afloat. And the 158-year-old Lehman filed for bankruptcy protection in September 2008, in the largest US bankruptcy filing in history which sent a financial tsunami across the globe that continues to reverberate today. According to the new legislation, if a large institution fails, the financial industry and shareholders are responsible for the cost of the company being wound down, not taxpayers. "Any shortfall would then be covered by a 'dissolution fund' pre-funded by large financial companies with assets of more than 50 billion dollars and hedge funds with assets of more than 10 billion dollars," the statement said. The legislation has yet to be sent to the Senate, where it is expected to face long and active debate. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links The Economy
Eurozone ministers, IMF see euro as overvalued: JunckerBrussels (AFP) Dec 1, 2009 Eurozone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund see the euro currency as too highly priced, Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker said Tuesday. Speaking after a meeting of the 16 countries that use the single currency, also attended by the IMF's Europe director Marek Belka, Juncker said they were all agreed that the "euro is overvalued." "We are in agreement with him when ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook