The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness (CCMC) released the “Fix, Add, Replace (FAR) Agenda” outlining the Center’s priorities for meaningful financial regulatory reform. The FAR Agenda tackles specific provisions of Dodd-Frank that need to be fixed, such as margin rules for derivatives; identifies financial regulatory reform areas that were left unaddressed in Dodd Frank, such as coordination among and consolidation of regulators; and highlights some areas to be replaced because they simply do not work, such as the Volcker Rule.
 
“The FAR Agenda is designed to ensure job creators of all sizes have access to investment and credit from well-functioning, well-regulated and divers sources of capital,” said David Hirschmann, president and CEO of CCMC. “Before the financial crisis, we called for fundamental regulatory reform of financial markets so American businesses could compete in a 21st century global economy. Dodd-Frank does not accomplish that goal. We believe that while there are disagreements about particular policy choices, the fundamental conclusion that our financial regulatory structure is still far from effective is widely supported.  We must get financial regulatory reform right.”
 
In an effort to constructively address these challenges, the CCMC prepared a list of areas that should be reviewed.  The agenda is not an exhaustive list of all the challenges and changes needed, but does reflect the areas that have the broadest impact on the American economy and the millions of businesses who rely on an effective capital formation system.
 
The FAR Agenda aims to examine and answer some basic questions:

• Are there areas where Dodd-Frank simply isn’t working as intended or where regulators need further clarity from Congress?  How do we fix these?
• What additional steps should we take in areas that were left unaddressed in Dodd-Frank?  For example, should we consolidate regulators or at a minimum ensure more effective coordination among the dozens of financial regulators?
• Are there provisions of Dodd-Frank that simply don’t work and need to be replaced?