Regulator special edition - Dodd-Frank Act - November 2010

​The US Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (otherwise known as "Dodd-Frank"), approved by the US House of Representatives on 30 June 2010, is a major legislative initiative which introduces significant changes to the US financial markets.

Dodd-Frank is intended to address many of the systemic issues that led to the recent financial crisis, and restore public confidence in both the financial system and government.

It reflects a significant paradigm shift in favour of consumer and investor protection, and touches all aspects of the financial markets.  In doing so, Dodd-Frank introduces a level of structural and regulatory reform that the international financial system has not seen for many decades. It has far reaching implications for international financial institutions, including Australian companies with global operations or ambitions.

The desire to understand what these changes mean in practice was evidenced by the overwhelming response we received in connection with our recent seminar on these changes. While the broad principles have been agreed, much remains unsettled at this time. Wide discretion has been given to the regulators who are responsible for making the rules and bringing the legislators' intentions to life. It will be important for financial services firms to keep across these new rules as they are developed. While this will require some effort, and an extra layer of regulation will present some challenges, it is not all heavy lifting. Much of what has been proposed with respect to executive compensation, for example, is already provided for or contemplated in Australia.

In this edition of Regulator, we attempt to scope out the major issues presented by Dodd-Frank for Australian companies on the basis of what we know now. Berkeley Cox explains the impact on disclosure and reporting  for securitisations. Diana Nicholson touches on the increased detail and transparency required for disclosures on executive compensation, while Scott Farrell considers the impact on the Australian derivatives markets. Finally, Jim Boynton delves into the impacts for Australian and offshore fund managers in the US and at home.

We hope you find this edition of Regulator helpful as your organisation works through the implications of this significant piece of legislation, and we will provide updates as and when new details emerge.

Best wishes
Stuart Fuller, Managing Partner

Signpost

Mallesons hosts Dodd-Frank Act seminar series

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is a major legislative initiative which introduces significant changes to the US financial markets with far reaching international implications. It introduces a level of structural and regulatory reform which the international financial system has not seen for many decades.

In this seminar series, we will investigate sector and function specific issues raised by the Act. See below for dates and topics of our upcoming seminars in Sydney. These will be video linked to our other offices.

Mallesons wins sixth CFO award

Mallesons Stephen Jaques has been named Corporate Law Firm of the Year for the fourth consecutive year at the 2010 CFO Awards.  The firm has now secured this award a total of six times in the last seven years.