Hearings Of Note: Congress Presses Forward With Reform Efforts

There are a number of hearings scheduled in Congress this week that could have an impact on financial regulatory reform. First, the House Financial Services Committee is holding a hearing tomorrow on "Capital Markets Regulatory Reform: Strengthening Investor Protection, Enhancing Oversight of Private Pools of Capital, and Creating a National Insurance Office”.

Scheduled witnesses include: Denise Voigt Crawford, Texas Securities Commissioner, Securities Administrators Board, on behalf of North American Securities Administrators Association; Richard Ketchum, Chairman and CEO, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority; Mercer E. Bullard, Founder and President, Fund Democracy, Inc.; John Taft, Head of Wealth Management, RBC Wealth Management, on behalf of Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association; David G. Tittsworth, Executive Director, Investment Adviser Association; Bruce W. Maisel, Vice President and Managing Counsel, General Counsel’s Office, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, on behalf of the American Council of Life Insurers; Richard H. Baker, President, Managed Funds Association; Douglas Lowenstein, President, Private Equity Council; James S. Chanos, Chairman, Coalition of Private Investment Companies; Terry McGuire, Co-Founder and General Partner, Polaris Venture Partners, and Chairman, National Venture Capital Association; Janice M. Abraham, President and Chief Executive Officer, United Educators Insurance, on behalf of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America; David B. Atkinson, Executive Vice President and Vice Chairman, RGA Reinsurance Company, on behalf of the Reinsurance Association of America; Dennis S. Herchel, Assistant Vice President & Counsel, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, on behalf of the American Counsel of Life Insurers; Spencer M. Houldin, President, Ericson Insurance Advisors, on behalf of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America; Therese Vaughan, Chief Executive Officer, National Association of Insurance Commissioners; J. Stephen Zielezienski, Senior Vice President & General Counsel, American Insurance Association.

 
The committee also is holding a hearing on Wednesday on “Reform of the Over-the-Counter Derivative Market: Limiting Risk and Ensuring Fairness,” and one on Thursday, on “H.R. 2382, the Credit Card Interchange Fees Act of 2009 and H.R. 3639, the Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act of 2009.” (Scheduled witnesses have not yet been released.)
 
The Senate Banking Committee is holding a hearing Wednesday on Securitization of Assets: Problems and Solutions (scheduled witnesses include Professor Patricia A. McCoy, University of Connecticut Law School; George P. Miller, Executive Director, American Securitization Forum; and Andrew Davidson, President, Andrew Davidson & Co. ).
 
It also is holding a hearing on Thursday on the Future of the Mortgage Market and the Housing Enterprises (scheduled witnesses include Edward J. DeMarco, Acting Director, Federal Housing Finance Agency; William Shear, Director, Financial Markets and Community Investment, U.S. Government Accountability Office; Andrew Jakabovics, Associate Director for Housing and Economics, Center for American Progress Action Fund; Dr. Susan Wachter, Professor of Real Estate and Finance, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania; and Peter J. Wallison, Arthur F. Burns Fellow in Financial Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute).