After listening to about 40 hours of congressional hearings, conference meetings, and testimony on Dodd-Frank, I’ve learned quite a few things. One is that combing through the legislative history of the Volcker Rule is going to take me a lot longer than I anticipated. So much for my New Year’s resolutions to spend more time at the gym.
Another is that Barney Frank is funny. At several points in conference, he’s made me laugh out loud. As just one example, see the clip below beginning at 1:27:00. (If the video doesn't load, go here) In response to complaints about an amendment of the Volcker rule to change the 3% cap on fund investment from “tangible common equity” to “tier one capital” Frank says:
I have to say on this that some of the indignation we get, it does remind me a little bit of the story – well it reminds me a lot of it, that’s why I’m telling it-- of the man standing on the shore and he sees a little boy struggling in the ocean and he’s being besieged by sharks and he’s about to drown and the man jumps in and fights off the sharks and saves the little boy and gives him artificial respiration back to the land and he presents a now breathing, though a crying, little boy to the mother and says “here.” And the mother says, “he had a hat.”
Well you don’t always in this have a hat. I just don’t think we oughta be debating the hat.
Given the alleged impact of the change (a forty percent increase in permitted fund investment, though that figure is contested), I don’t know that I agree with Frank’s characterization of the change as “the hat.” But he is entertaining.
As an aside, I haven't been able to find a transcript of the conference (the CSpan "transcript" is, of course, just really a place finder and thus incomplete and not useful). If anyone has one or can direct me to where to find one, I'd be most grateful.
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