Financial Crisis: July 2011

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Financial Crisis: July 2011

Wall Street Takes Aim At New Transparency Rule For Executive Pay

Susan Crabtree | July 22, 2011, 6:00AM

Wall Street

Wall Street has deployed an army of lobbyists to try to whittle away as much of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill as possible, spending $242.2 million on 712 hired guns to press their message on Capitol Hill since the beginning of 2010, according to a new report by Public Citizen.

The 30 most politically active business and financial industry organizations also ponied up $15.6 million in federal political contributions during the same time period. The entities with the deepest pockets include: the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Bankers Association, the Financial Services Roundtable, MetLife, Goldman Sachs, to name just a few.

Why lay out so much cash to influence Washington in the months leading up to the first anniversary of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law? Some of Wall Street's biggest firms are gunning for a rule specifically designed to address one the main causes of the financial meltdown: exorbitant incentive-based executive compensation packages.

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Topics: AFL-CIO, Dodd-Frank, Executive Compensation, Financial Crisis, Public Citizen, Unions, Wall Street

Financial Crisis

AEI Fellow Says Financial Crisis Commission Tried To 'Suppress' Data

Ryan J. Reilly | July 15, 2011, 1:30PM

Peter Wallison

A Republican on the federal commission charged with finding the cause of the nation's financial crisis is pushing back at allegations that he improperly advocated for a repeal of financial regulations. He's flinging back in the faces of his Democratic opponents the charge that he wanted a pre-determined outcome from the panel's report.

Peter Wallison, in an article posted on the conservative group American Enterprise Institute's website, accuses Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission Chairman Phil Angelides, a Democrat, of a "concerted effort to suppress" data from Wallison's colleague that they claim showed the government's mortgage policies played a role in the financial crisis.

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Topics: Financial Crisis, Financial Reform, Financial Regulation, Peter Wallison

Darrell Issa

How Darrell Issa's Investigation Into Financial Crisis Commission Backfired On GOP

Ryan J. Reilly | July 14, 2011, 2:08PM

The House Oversight Committee's investigation into the government commission that was supposed to figure out the cause of the the financial crisis appears to have backfired on the Republicans who lead the committee.

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Topics: Darrell Issa, Financial Crisis, House Oversight, House Oversight and Government Reform

Peter Wallison

Republican On Financial Commission Worked To Help GOP Repeal Dodd-Frank

Ryan J. Reilly | July 13, 2011, 4:47PM

Peter Wallison

A Republican on the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission tried to get his colleagues to help House GOPers repeal the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill, according to documents released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee.

Democrats released their report on the evidence uncovered by congressional investigators on the same day that Rep. Darrell Issa scrapped a hearing on the FCIC that was supposed to take place. Issa cancelled the hearing because, Democrats said, Republicans uncovered some evidence which didn't fit their narrative.