Dodd-Frank Under Fire a Year Later

By EDWARD WYATT
NYT

WASHINGTON — In the year since the passage of a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s financial regulatory system after the financial crisis, the stock market is up, banking profits have grown and institutions that invest on behalf of average Americans are praising the tougher stance in Washington.

Timothy F. Geithner, the Treasury secretary, expressed the general good feeling among Obama administration officials on Monday, saying that the financial system was “on more solid ground” than at any time since before the crisis in 2008.

But there remain signs that the tightened regulatory measures could still be undone, creating uncertainty about whether the actions that have helped to stabilize Wall Street will be in place when the next crisis hits.

Two dozen bills in Congress seek to dismantle parts of the Dodd-Frank Act, which President Obama signed a year ago Thursday. Business groups have argued that too many new regulations could snuff out the start of an economic recovery.

(More here.)