The Dodd-Frank Act and its Consequences for the Financial and Banking System
The Great Recession of 2008 brought to light a number of weaknesses in the United States economy that allowed for the stock market crash, housing crisis, and necessitated the bail-out of several important banking companies. In response to the recession and fears of a potential repeat of events, President Barack Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act into federal law in 2010. The act brought with it the most radical financial regulation reform in U.S history since the Great Depression. It completely changed the American financial regulatory environment, affecting the activities of all federal financial regulatory agencies, along with nearly every part of the financial services industry of the U.S.…