Reform reading: Volcker rule deadline tomorrow

Introduction

If you haven’t been paying attention to the Financial Reform Watch calendar, tomorrow (Nov. 5) is the deadline to tell the Financial Stability Oversight Council how it should write the so-called “Volcker Rule” to limit banks’ risky trading for their own accounts.

Click here to see the council’s request last month for public comments… and to offer your thoughts, go to http://www.regulations.gov and pull up docket FSOC-2010-0002. In Baseline Scenario, Simon Johnson writes how State Street and other large banks are telling the council they want to be left alone.

Geithner death watch

Could the fallout from Republicans’ new clout include Tim Geithner? CNBC reports it has launched a Geithner death watch in anticipation that the Treasury secretary is a logical fall guy for the White House as it tries to change direction. Geithner lacks significant support on Capitol Hill and doesn’t have any longstanding ties to the Democratic base. “Don’t shed too many tears for Geithner,” CNBC said, adding that he’s bound to be courted by lots of banks and corporate boards of directors.

Technical corrections for Dodd-Frank

“Oversight” is the new buzz word among senior Republicans and financial lobbyists to describe what the Republican-led House Financial Services Committee will do with the Dodd-Frank law. That’s a polite way of saying the panel intends to hold lots of hearings to apply pressure to financial regulators as they draft and finalize rules mandated by the financial law.

Republicans will also prepare a bill with technical corrections for Dodd-Frank, a kind of fine-tuning often needed after major legislation is approved, but such a bill could become a platform for critics to try and make deeper changes. “While the new Congress will seek to review and make changes to financial regulatory reform efforts, given the split chambers of Congress, it is more likely that successful Dodd-Frank Act-related legislation will focus on technical corrections or slight modifications to the legislation, as opposed to a ‘repeal’,” lobbying powerhouse Patton Boggs said in an election analysis.