The Federal financial regulators who are entrusted with implementing Dodd-Frank and other key financial regulatory initiatives do not routinely conduct economic analysis. This paper looks at the statutory obligations that Federal financial regulators face and the degree to which they useeconomic...

Dodd-Frank is a sprawling law, many pieces of which are unrelated to any financial crisis — past or future. What unifies the disparate pieces is an unquestioning faith in regulatory omniscience and broad grants of power to these infallible regulators. The law calls on regulators to step in...

This paper presents the results of the Mercatus Center's Small Bank Survey, which include responses from approximately 200 banks across 41 states with less than $10 billion in assets each, serving mostly rural and small metropolitan markets. The initial analysis suggests that Dodd-Frank...

American International Group, Inc. (AIG), a large insurance company, received a massive bailout during the financial crisis in response to difficulties centered on the company's multifaceted exposure to residential mortgage-backed securities. The company is back on its feet, albeit in more...

This paper looks at how the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has implemented its mandate under the Dodd-Frank Act. Although the CFTC has imposed many regulations through notice-and-comment rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), it has also used other methods?such as...

For decades, money market funds (MMFs) were thought to be safe, low-risk investments. The financial crisis of 2007?2009 cast MMFs in a new, less favorable light, which prompted calls for reform. Our paper offers a reform alternative that builds on MMF boards of directors and their...

Federal appeals courts have vacated several Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules due to inadequate economic analysis. The SEC, pledging to do better, published staff economic analysis guidance in March 2012 that covers many of the same topics executive branch agencies address in...

The wrenching financial crisis of 2007 to 2009 triggered an intense period of regulatory reflection. The congressional response - the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) - substantially reshaped the country's financial regulatory framework. The new framework...

For decades, money market funds (MMFs) were thought to be safe, low-risk investments. The financial crisis of 2007-2009 cast MMFs in a new, less favorable light, which prompted calls for reform. Our paper offers a reform alternative that builds on MMF boards of directors and their...