Amid what promises to be sweeping changes to the way the financial services industry is overseen by the federal government, many trade organizations and insiders say they feel Obama's proposals will do the right thing.
On June 17, the President presented a white paper which, among subjects ranging from federal oversight of controversial financial topics such as mortgage lending, hedge funds and credit default swaps, also paves the way for much more federal control of the insurance industry. The document, Financial Regulatory Reform — A New Foundation: Rebuilding Financial Supervision and Regulation, released by the Treasury Department, stirred an unusually positive set of responses from groups ranging from the ALCI to NAVA.
"This will set us on the right path towards a modern, efficient and consumer-oriented regulatory program," said Frank Keating, ACLI president. "[We] appreciate Treasury's commitment to work towards modernization of insurance regulation, based on the principles of national uniformity, efficiency, effective oversight of systematic risk and better international cooperation."