When President Obama signed H.R. 4173, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act bill, he created an avalanche of new work for the executive branch.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says the Dodd-Frank act will require federal agencies to develop 520 rules, conduct 81 studies and issue 93 reports.
The U.S. Treasury Department will have to create a Federal Insurance Office (FIO), and the Federal Reserve Bureau will have to create a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which will have an Office of Financial Protection for Older Americans and an Office of Financial Literacy. The topics the financial literacy office will address will include retirement planning. Other sections of the act will revamp bank and hedge fund regulation and create a Financial Stability Oversight Council.
Frank Keating, president of the American Council of Life Insurers, Washington, says the signing of the Dodd-Frank bill shifts the focus of financial reform efforts to the federal regulatory agencies.
