Friday, May 29, 2009

The Economist: Regulatory overhaul in U.S. faces big challenges

Regulators, lawmakers and other officials in the U.S. are looking into overhauling financial oversight, but the efforts are running into resistance from bankers, industry insiders and, in some cases, other regulators. "Opinion has splintered. Everyone is fighting everyone," said Bert Ely, a consultant on regulatory issues. Some critics slammed proposals as being hastily thrown together, while others said officials are not moving fast enough. The result will probably be that few, if any, financial reforms will be approved this year, pundits said.

White House looks at reining in oversight revamp: The Obama administration is considering whether it bit off more than it can chew with its broad proposal of overhauling financial regulation and might scale back some of the more aggressive measures, sources said. Specifically, officials are looking into whether to reorganize the regulatory framework or simply implement new rules at existing regulatory agencies.