FINANCIAL SERVICES FORUM for FINANCIAL SERVICES FORUM
What was lobbied
6 issue areas, each in the filer's own words, with who lobbied on it and where.
Financial Institutions/Investments/Securities FIN
Financial Regulatory Reform and Modernization - The Forum supports reform and modernization of the financial regulatory system to ensure the safety and soundness of financial institutions, promote financial systemic stability, and protect the varied interests of depositors, consumers, and investors. The "Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act" - The Forum supports financial regulatory reform that: 1) establishes resolution authority to end "too-big-to-fail"; 2) enhances consumer protections; 3) regulates over-the-counter derivatives; and, 4) provides for "systemic supervision" of the U.S. financial system. The Forum opposes legislation to preemptively dismantle or limit the activities of well-capitalized and well-managed financial institutions, haircuts on secured creditors to financial institutions in the course of a resolution, and punitive taxes or levies on financial institutions. The U.S. economy, the world's largest and most diverse, needs financial institutions of all sizes and business models. Smaller institutions effectively serve the needs of certain aspects of our economy, while larger institutions serve the needs of other aspects. The unique value of large institutions includes the sheer size of credits they can deliver, the array of products and services they offer, and their geographic reach capacities that smaller institutions simply dont share. Such size and scope-related capabilities are particularly important to globally active corporations and contribute directly to economic growth and job creation. Large banks, active in many countries across the world, also help integrate global stock, bond, and foreign exchange markets, making those markets more modern, liquid, and efficient. And large, globally active banks expand the supply of credit and other financial services to emerging market economies, making important contributions to the expansion of trade flows and opening foreign markets to U.S. goods and services. Derivatives are important tools that enable companies to minimize and manage their exposure to a wide range of risks, thereby freeing up vital capital for other uses. The Forum maintains that financial derivatives should be subject to prudential supervision and supports the establishment of a systemic risk supervisor to monitor, assess and address systemic risk, in continuous interaction with functional regulators to address any threats to the financial system, including in the derivatives markets. The Forum is actively engaged with the various financial regulators to ensure the effective implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. The Forum requested a Comment Deadline Extension on Volcker Rule Proposed Regulations. The Forum is concerned with the proposed rules, specifically, among other areas, the extraordinary overstatement of exposures in the single-counterparty credit limits Capital Requirements -- The Forum supports regulatory capital requirements that ensure safety, soundness, and systemic stability while not undermining lending that stimulates economic growth and job creation. The Forum is actively engaged with financial regulators to ensure the effective implementation of the Basel III capital and liquidity framework. Capital Market Competitiveness -- The Forum supports the free flow of capital and open and competitive U.S. markets. The Forum also supports maintaining the United States as an attractive place for investment and a continued leader in the global economy.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| JOHN DEARIE | — |
| COURTNEY GEDULDIG | — |
| ROBERT NICHOLS | — |
Taxation/Internal Revenue Code TAX
Tax Policy - The Forum supports tax policy that keeps the U.S. economy open to create jobs, and attract foreign investment. The Forum believes that imposing taxes and fees on the financial sector will restrict the availability of credit, increase the tax burden on investors and impede the ability of the financial sector to create jobs. S. 722, the "Taxpayer Certainty and Relief Act" - The Forum supports strengthening the economy through policies that foster private savings and capital investment. The Forum supports maintaining the existing tax rates on dividends and capital gains. The Forum opposes onerous fees and taxes imposed on large financial institutions that will undermine economic growth by impairing the ability of financial institutions to extend credit to individuals and businesses.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| JOHN DEARIE | — |
| COURTNEY GEDULDIG | — |
| ROBERT NICHOLS | — |
Budget/Appropriations BUD
The Forum supports the United States engagement in the global economy through approved international bodies like the IMF. The Forum believes it would be in the best interest of the capital markets for the U.S. to honor its obligations made as a part of those bodies and opposes measures to rescind committments made for the stability of international markets.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| JOHN DEARIE | — |
| COURTNEY GEDULDIG | — |
| ROBERT NICHOLS | — |
Small Business SMB
The Forum supports policies that enhance the circumstances for new business formation and survival by reducing regulatory burden and policies that provide access to capital and credit for new and small businesses.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| JOHN DEARIE | — |
| COURTNEY GEDULDIG | — |
| ROBERT NICHOLS | — |
Trade (domestic/foreign) TRD
China - The Forum supports economic engagement with China to promote the liberalization of China's financial markets. Economic Engagement, Trade and Exports - The Forum supports promoting economic growth through international engagement, trade and exports. The Forum supports China's continued liberalization of its currency policy and accelerated movement toward a market-determined value of the yuan. In this regard, the Forum supports U.S. polices that encourage and incentivize further currency liberalization. The Forum regards policies intended to penalize or punish China as counterproductive. The Forum also urges faster and more comprehensive reform and modernization of China's financial system. A more modern and effective financial system is critically important to achieving China's goal of a more consumption-based Chinese economy -- which is very much in the interest of the United States. According to the Commerce Department, every additional $1 billion in exports creates approximately 5,000 new American jobs. The Forum supports policies that aim to strengthen the resilience of the financial services sector, as promulgated by G-20. The Forum is concerned about the unintended consequences of the regulatory treatment of trade finance instruments under the Basel framework.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| JOHN DEARIE | — |
| COURTNEY GEDULDIG | — |
| ROBERT NICHOLS | — |
Government Issues GOV
The Forum feels strongly that Congress should work together to enable the U.S. to be able to meet all its financial obligations on time to ensure global confidence in our markets, currency, and political process. The Forum believes the downsides of U.S. default could cause undesirable ripple effects to the global economy. The Forum supports regulation that would modernize and update the 65-year old regulatory process, and improve how federal agencies promulgate regulations with the most significant affects on jobs and economic growth. The Forum supports legislation that averts Americas impending fiscal cliff. Failure to address the automatic tax increases and spending cuts would reduce economic growth and could jeopardize economic recovery. In addition to immediate action on the fiscal cliff, the Forum also supports tackling comprehensive tax reform in the next Congress; and agreeing to develop a long term plan to address America's excessive spending, particularly entitlement spending.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| JOHN DEARIE | — |
| COURTNEY GEDULDIG | — |
| ROBERT NICHOLS | — |
Shown as published by the Senate Office of Public Records and the House Clerk under the Lobbying Disclosure Act. The official filing is the record; open it for the full form.