July 21 marks the 5th anniversary of landmark legislation called the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act which brought about transformational change in the regulation of the financial services industry.

The goal of the legislation was “to promote the financial stability of the United States by improving accountability and transparency in the financial system, to end ‘too big to fail’, to protect the American taxpayer by ending bailouts, to protect consumers from abusive financial services practices, and for other purposes.”

Since the enactment of Dodd-Frank, critics have attacked the law from both sides of the political spectrum: for not going far enough to protect consumers and prevent more bailouts or for overly broad interpretations in regulating sectors of the financial industry that were not meant to be regulated. Others have praised the law for reining in abusive practices and putting the financial sector on notice that the new watchdog, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, will take swift enforcement action if they violate the public trust.

The panel addressed the positives and negatives of Dodd-Frank and what lies ahead for financial regulation.

This briefing featured:

Mark A. Calabria
Director, Financial Regulation Studies, Cato Institute

Aaron Klein
Director, Financial Regulatory Reform Initiative, Bipartisan Policy Center

Moderator: J.W. Verret
Assistant Professor of Law, George Mason University School of Law

For more information, contact:
Congressional Civil Justice Academy
703.993.9964
CCJCA@gmu.edu