U.S. Chamber Calls for Smarter, Not Bigger, Government in Strengthening America's Capital Markets

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness (CCMC) today reaffirmed its position on reforming America's capital markets and outlined actions the administration, Congress, and the business community must take to help restore and strengthen our nation's capital markets. The Chamber again called for modernizing the regulations governing our capital markets in a way that puts the economy, jobs, and all investors first.

"We welcome Senate action to reform our broken financial regulatory system," said David Hirschmann, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber's Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness (CCMC). "This effort needs to have a strong focus on protecting consumers and investors, while ensuring that our markets also supply businesses and entrepreneurs with the capital they need to grow, innovate, and create jobs."

The Chamber supports:

* An overhaul of existing regulators and greater transparency in financial markets.
* Greater coordination among regulators, including mechanisms to ensure regulators have the information needed to identify systemic risks.
* Closing the gaps to end regulatory "dead zones" and eliminating duplicative layers in current regulatory structure.
* Greater global regulatory cooperation primarily focusing on cross border regulatory issues and financial reporting.
* An exit strategy for programs established by Congress, Treasury, and the Federal Reserve to address the financial crisis.
* Predictable mechanisms to dissolve failing financial institutions in an orderly fashion.
* Registration of hedge fund advisers, including appropriate reporting to regulators.
* Ensuring transparency in the derivatives markets through a greater use of central clearing, while preserving the accessibility and affordability of the over-the-counter markets for corporate end-users of derivatives.

The Chamber opposes regulatory proposals that would impair financial markets and our members' access to capital:

* A new stand-alone Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which would add a duplicative regulatory layer to the current structure.
* Proposals such as so-called proxy access that advance the agendas of activist special interests at the expense of good governance.
* One-size-fits all corporate governance rules such as those contemplated in proposed "Shareholder Bill of Rights" legislation.
* A systemic risk regulator that duplicates existing regulation or permanently designates specific financial institutions as systemically significant, thereby designating them "too big to fail."
* Mechanisms for sustained, open-ended government intervention in the private economy. We can only support resolution authority if it is narrowly tailored to achieve the orderly bankruptcy and dissolution of firms.

"The regulatory systems governing our markets need to be modernized, and the current debate should not be about more regulation, but smarter regulation," said Hirschmann. "We must ensure the viability of global accounting, protect companies from excessive litigation and abusive enforcement, and stop special interests from stretching the rules governing markets in order to pursue activist agendas. We look forward to working with Chairman Dodd in shaping a regulatory system needed to meet the demands of a dynamic 21st century economy. "

Since its inception three years ago, the Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness has led a bipartisan effort to modernize and strengthen the outmoded regulatory systems. Fundamental to this effort, the Chamber believes we must eliminate duplicative and overlapping layers of regulation and enforcement that undermine efficiency.

The CCMC is committed to working aggressively with the administration, Congress, and global leaders to implement reforms to strengthen the economy, restore investor confidence, and ensure well-functioning capital markets.

The U.S. Chamber is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.