Ryan Tracy, writing in The Wall Street Journal, thought Republicans should love this Council and be at pains to keep it, even as they look to “quickly scal[e] back Obama-era policies.”
I demur.
Tracy suggested
Consider the powers [FSOC] grants the Treasury secretary: As chair of FSOC—whose members include the chairs of the Federal Reserve and Securities and Exchange Commission—[Treasury Secretary nominee Steven] Mr Mnuchin can convene a meeting of the top financial regulators at any time, and set the agenda.
SecTreas already can do this. While he can’t compel attendance, the regulators would have hard time declining to attend or explaining to the rest of us their decision to stay away.
FSOC can make public statements or recommendations that have a name-and-shame effect.
SecTreas already can do this, too, as can any Cabinet Secretary and Agency head, did any of these have the courage to speak without hiding behind the comfortable numbers of a council.
FSOC’s greatest power is to designate “systemically important” financial firms outside the banking system for stricter federal oversight.
Mere existence of this authority is abusive overreach by Government. The Feds have no business in this business at all.
If Mr Mnuchin sympathizes with FSOC detractors, he could call fewer meetings with lighter agendas.
SecTreas doesn’t need the existence of a Council to decline to call meetings of regulators.
It’s past time for this abusive Council, and Dodd-Frank, to be done away with.
Full stop.