President Barack Obama with Senators Chris Dodd and Barney Frank.
President Obama will discuss the implementation of the Dodd-Frank reform bill with financial regulators at the White House on Monday, which comes as the President has been debating who will replace Ben Bernanke as head of the new Federal Reserve. Monday’s meeting comes just over three years after the signing of Dodd-Frank and amid a report by CNBC that just 39 percent of the 400 new industry rules have been implemented. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said last month that the fully implemented 4,200-page bill will be a top priority for the White House. Meanwhile, Washington has been abuzz with rumors about who will replace Bernanke as the head of the Fed. Obama has indicated he is considering former Treasury secretary Lawrence Summers while congressional Democrats back Fed vice chair Janet Yellen.
"In a closed-door meeting with Senate Democrats last month, Obama defended Summers from criticism over remarks he made about women while serving as president of Harvard and for his role in the deregulatory push under President Clinton. Summers has come under particular fire for his role blocking the CFTC from publicly examining derivatives trading.
In a press conference shortly before leaving for vacation, Obama said his nomination would be "definitely one of the most important economic decisions that I’ll make in the remainder of my presidency" and called both Yellen and Summers "highly qualified candidates."
"I want a Fed chairman who’s able to look at those issues and have a perspective that keeps an eye on inflation, makes sure that we’re not seeing artificial bubbles in place, but also recognizing, you know what, a big part of my job right now is to make sure the economy is growing quickly and robustly, and is sustained and durable, so that people who work hard in this country are able to find a job," Obama said."
Among the major outstanding regulations of the Dodd-Frank reform bill that must be completed include rules targeting asset-backed securities markets, credit-rating agencies and the Volcker rule, a measure named after former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker that restricts banks from engaging in proprietary trading.
