WASHINGTON – Today, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) released the following statement on the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s agreement to strengthen capital requirements.

 

“When President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act into law, the United States took the lead in restoring stability and confidence in our financial markets and laid down a marker establishing very high standards that the rest of the world can emulate. 

 

“Dodd-Frank takes an important step to strengthen capital standards, including setting a higher floor for capital levels and improving the quality of capital. 

 

“However, strong international cooperation is essential to make sure we don’t end up in a race to the bottom, where other nations relax regulations to attract business and ultimately end up allowing the worst abuses of the past decade to continue.  The international community can’t afford to have regulatory arbitrage with financial institutions shopping for the weakest regulator.

 

“The Basel Committee’s agreement is heartening evidence that our international partners are equally committed to ensuring that financial institutions act responsibly and are prepared to weather the next big economic storm. This agreement is an essential first step in harmonizing regulatory reforms to stabilize the world economy for decades to come.”    

 

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