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FIRMA FORUM Magazine
This the feature article from our Issue #3, 2010 FIRMA FORUM Newsletter. Members can view the entire issue, and past issues, in our archive
The Sound of Rumbling Thunder Assessing the impact of U.S. financial regulatory reform
By Dolores Atallo-Hazelgreen
For months, the legislative barometer has been signaling change amid the rumble of distant thunder. Now the storm has broken: President Obama has signed into law the monumental “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.”
It represents a tumultuous storm that will likely blow for years, impacting many aspects of how financial firms do business and interact with their corporate and retail customers and other stakeholders, including analysts, regulators, and, not least, shareholders. Given the extent of change, it is important that financial firms understand what the legislation will mean for them as well as their customers. Since the recent financial and economic crisis erupted, financial firms have already experienced noticeable change in the number and consistency of their interactions with regulators. As new rules and rule-making bodies are established and take effect, there will be an ongoing management challenge for financial firms of all kinds.