–Senate Banking Chief Expects Senate To Take Up Bill Week of July 12
–Sen Dodd: If Reg Reform Fails, New Effort Won’t Occur For ‘Generation’
–House Moves To Reg Reform Vote In Late Afternoon or Early Evening

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) – As the House moved toward a late Wednesday
afternoon vote on financial regulatory reform legislation, Senate
Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd urged senators to approve the same
bill when the upper chamber returns from its Fourth of July recess.

In a speech on the Senate floor, Dodd said that he expects the
Senate to take up the sweeping financial regulatory reform bill the week
of July 12th, arguing that it is critical that legislation passes.

“Now is the time to act,” Dodd said.

In a lengthy statement, Dodd traced what he called “this rather
long journey” to craft a regulatory reform bill, adding that if this
package is defeated Congress will not revisit this issue “for a
generation.”

Dodd said the financial crisis of 2008 provided a powerful impetus
for Congress to reassess the nation’s financial regulatory structure.

“The crisis gave us an opportunity to respond,” Dodd said.

The Senate Banking chief called the bill a “truly inclusive and
collective effort” and cited the work of Republicans who helped draft
the bill.

“This is a complicated piece of legislation,” Dodd said. He said
its provisions related to systemic risk monitoring, resolution
authority, regulation of over-the-counter derivatives and hedge funds
and expanded transparency at the Federal Reserve Board are the bill’s
most significant.

The House passed earlier today a rule that allows for the lower
chamber to consider the regulatory reform bill later today. It is now
debating a rule that would allow for a two-hour debate on the package.

The House is likely to vote on the bill in the late afternoon
Wednesday or early evening.

The underlying bill would create a council of regulators to monitor
the economy for systemic threats. It would institute new regulations on
hedge funds and OTC derivatives and creates a Bureau of Consumer
Financial Protection that will oversee mortgages, credit cards and other
credit products.

The bill provides for expanded regular audits of the Federal
Reserve by the Government Accountability Act. It includes a variation of
the Volcker rule, banning banks from proprietary trading and limiting
them from investing in or sponsoring hedge funds and private equity
funds.

It limits bank investments in private equity or hedge funds to 3%
of a fund’s capital. Total investment in private equity and hedge funds
can’t exceed 3% of a company’s tangible common equity.

The bill would push most OTC derivatives through third party
clearinghouses and onto exchanges or electronic trading systems. It
would force banks to push some of their swaps trading into subsidiaries.

Under the bill, banks will be allowed to keep their derivative
trading operations as long as they are used to hedge risk or trade
interest rates or foreign exchange swaps.

The bill will give federally insured banks up to two years to send
instruments such as uncleared credit default swaps off to a separately
capitalized subsidiary.

While it will only require a majority vote in the House and Senate
to pass, Senate supporters will have to secure 60 votes to cut off the
debate in the upper chamber.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **

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