Since becoming law in July 2010, the Dodd-Frank Act has come to dominate the financial sector landscape in the US. Over 2,000 pages long, the legislation is focussed on creating a system of oversight that reduces risk to the financial system, enhances consumer protection and increases transparency of the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market.
New challenges for non-US financial institutions. As expected, US financial institutions – particularly banks, but also securities firms, investment advisers, fund managers, and insurers – face new challenges in the form of increased reporting, enhanced prudential requirements, extended fiduciary commitments and more intensive supervision.
But less expected has been the potential scope of these new rules to impact non-US financial institutions – and indeed other non financial companies - undertaking financial activity linked in any way to the US. The final scope of this reach remains a subject of heated debate.
Many of the Dodd-Frank Act’s requirements have the potential to affect any public company with financial ties to the US. In this publication, we have focussed on those likely to have the biggest impact. Also included in the publication are suggested actions, which firms can now take to begin assessing what Dodd-Frank means for them and preparing for the coming changes.
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