A Brief Look at the Dodd-Frank Act

  • December 7, 2010
  • • Written by: William L. Pittenger, MAI 

Winter 2010-2011, Vol. 35, No. 3

Abstract: The financial crisis that began in 2008 was largely a product of outdated regulation and supervision, along with innovations in technology and credit markets that were “advancing faster than regulatory and risk management controls,” says this article’s author. Here, Pittenger reviews the Dodd-Frank Act, which creates new agencies and oversight for various financial institutions, with an eye on the Act’s possible unintended consequences and some of the difficulties in implementing many of its provisions. Not addressing the future of the GSEs in the Act leaves a very big hole, he says.