"Realizing that good information is fundamental to good supervision, the authors of [Dodd-Frank] created the Office of Financial Research," writes American Banker's editor-at-large, Barbara Rehm in her most recent column.
The idea is if regulators are even going to get ahead of the next crisis they need aggregated data to spot problems, such as industry-wide concentrations of risk.
She's disappointed at how little progress has been made: "Two years later, the office remains an afterthought. It doesn't have a Senate-confirmed director or even much of a permanent staff. It's taken a baby step forward with its
If Congress ever does revisit parts of Dodd-Frank, at "the top of its list should be pulling OFR out of the Treasury Department and making it an independent agency," she writes.
She would also like to see bank board directors asking tougher questions.
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