Banking Law

Chris Dodd: Man On A Mission?

Chris Dodd's pending retirement from the US Senate (and the leadership of the Senate Banking Committee) is causing some proponents of banking reform to begin singing (well, not full-throatedly, more like humming) the blues. Alain Sherter, a man who yearns for banks to be put on "a short leash" (which I think is appropriate only for use at a leather convention, and even then, only when held by a dominatrix named "Lady Inamorata"), focuses on Dodd's likely successor among Senate Democrats. He's not happy about the prospect that any of them will be as tough on banks as Christopher ("Friend of Angelo") Dodd. He's most likely correct.

Taking a more hopeful line, though, is Stacy Kaper at the American Banker (paid subscription required). She's zeroed in on the fact that Chris has the whole of this year to do his voodoo, and that he's focused on his legacy (other than having "dated" Carrie Fisher and gotten a sweet home loan deal from the late, great Countrywide). The various yapping heads she's spoken with speculate that Dodd will push reform and, freed from political pressures imposed by a re-election bid, will be willing to engage in the horse trading that traditionally has been the way to get legislation moved through the more deliberative body of our esteemed Congress. While folks like Alain might be disappointed with any major compromises that Dodd might make to get a bill through Congress before he rides off into oblivion, folks like me (a minion of the evil banking empire) are worried that whatever passes will be screwing the goose that lays my golden eggs (and not in a pleasurable way, either). Odds are that if Dodd is serious about working out a compromise, he can push something through that will disappoint everyone, which is what Congress does about as well or better than any other public institution we have and which should allow him to echo another giant of the past decade: "Mission Accomplished."

Full post as published by Bank Lawyers Blog on January 07, 2010 (boomark / email).