WASHINGTON — Four House Democrats on Tuesday cited the possibility of a default on Greek debt as a reminder of the need for rapid implementation of financial reform in the United States.
"The lack of transparency — particularly in derivatives markets — was a major cause of the recent crisis and remains a clear and present danger to the financial system," Democratic Reps. Barney Frank, Maxine Waters, Stephen Lynch and Joe Courtney said in a press release. "The current situation regarding credit-default swaps on European debt is characterized by a similar lack of transparency."
The lawmakers' statement noted that the Dodd-Frank Act requires reporting and, in most cases, exchange trading and central clearing, of swaps transactions. Federal regulators have yet to finalize the rules that will implement these portions of the law.
While the Democratic representatives did not criticize the regulators directly, they did chastise congressional Republicans for what they characterized as GOP efforts to "delay, defund and defang" key provisions of the law.
