Author: David Schwartz J.D. CPA
Despite the legislation's two-part name, "The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act," SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro understands financial regulatory reform and consumer protection to be one thing, not two separate goals. In her October 26, 2012 remarks at George Washington University, Chairman Schapiro states that she sees Dodd-Frank, though still a work in a progress, as founded on some very simple guiding principles that benefit all market participants in the long run and are the basis for both sound regulation and consumer protection. According to Schapiro, these principles are:
- Markets should be transparent.
- Regulation should be consistent, without gaps that can be exploited by those who wish to indulge in risky, destabilizing or illegal behavior.
- Market participants, not taxpayers, should bear the risks of their market activities.
- And regulators should have the willingness and the tools they need to apply these principles to the day-to-day workings of the financial markets.