Dubai: A former commissioner of the US financial market regulator was in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday advocating against strong regulations that govern the US and European capital markets.
Paul Atkins, chief executive of consultancy Patomak Global Partners, a former commissioner of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and financial adviser to US President Donald Trump’s transition team, said certain regulations have been spawning uncertainty and undermining the climate necessary for economic growth.
He specifically referred to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, enacted in 2010 by former President Barack Obama in direct response to the 2008 financial crisis.
“The real tragedy — or inconvenient truth — behind Dodd-Frank and the hundreds of other rules flowing from Washington every year is that consumers, investors, and small business are harmed the most. For consumers and investors, increasing amounts of regulation means higher prices, diminished returns, or restricted choices,” Atkins said in a speech in Abu Dhabi.
He added that US and European capital markets “have suffered under the weight of too much government intrusion and over-regulation.”
His comments come amid much focus on Dodd-Frank after Trump signed an executive order earlier this year instructing the Treasury Department to examine financial rules and file a report on findings. Trump had called Dodd-Frank a “disaster” and blamed market regulations for crippling the economy.
However, economists and market experts paint Dodd-Frank under a very different light, with Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen saying the reform diminishes odds of another financial crisis.
Key among Dodd-Frank’s regulations is reducing banks’ exposure to risky financial products and the need for bailouts, as well the need for banks to demonstrate solid financial grounds.
Trump’s Republican allies insist on painting Dodd-Frank as a barrier to growth.
“This 2,319-page behemoth, requiring between 243 and 533 new rules, depending on how you count them, continue to spawn uncertainty and undermine the climate necessary for economic growth. Small businesses, which have fewer monetary and human resources available to handle red tape compared to their larger peers, also are disproportionately impacted by government regulation,” Atkins said.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
