Wall Street Reform And Consumer Protection Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4173) to provide for financial regulatory reform, to protect consumers and investors, to enhance Federal understanding of insurance issues, to regulate the over-the-counter derivatives markets, and for other purposes:

* Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Chair, I would like to thank Chairman Frank and his staff for working with me on a clarification included in the Manager's Amendment. The provision addresses how the Financial Services Oversight Council and the Federal Reserve should interact and supervise financial holding companies that do not own banks, but which are subject to stricter standards because the Council has found them to be systemically risky.

* The provision requires the Federal Reserve to be flexible when applying the standards to non-bank holding companies, rather than using a bank-centric approach that may not be appropriate for their structure. In addition, the Federal Reserve will have to consult with the Federal Insurance Office when determining how best to supervise insurance companies that are subject to stricter standards. For companies that are also foreign-based, the Federal Reserve and the Oversight Council must take into consideration if the company has comparable home-country supervision and decide how best to coordinate with that supervision. These minor clarifications help to ensure that institutions which are not banks will not be forced to comply with regulations that do not fit their business structure.

* The beauty of the U.S. financial system is diversity, both in products and in structure. It is important to preserve that diversity for the purpose of domestic and international competition. I thank Chairman Frank for his willingness to incorporate these changes into the manager's amendment.

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