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In 2008 the Democratic nominee raised far more money from Wall Street than John McCain. But for 2012, the financial industry is favoring Mitt Romney over the incumbent president.
August 29 -
The former House Speaker opines on how small institutions were damaged by Dodd-Frank, and what he would do differently if elected president.
July 25
WASHINGTON — In his new economic plan, Mitt Romney offers his most detailed comments to date on the Dodd-Frank Act, which he says he would seek to repeal and replace with a streamlined set of financial regulations, including capital requirements and rules on derivatives.
The Republican presidential candidate released his 160-page plan, titled "Believe in America," on Wednesday. Much of the press coverage has focused on Romney's fiscal policy proposals, including a reduction in the corporate tax rate to 25%.
But Romney also devotes about three pages to Dodd-Frank and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The former Massachusetts governor says that he would seek to amend both laws.
More illuminating than Romney's critique of Dodd-Frank, which largely echoes the criticisms offered by congressional Republicans, is what he says about how he would reform the law.
"Some of the concepts in Dodd-Frank have a place. Greater transparency for inter-bank relationships, enhanced capital requirements, and provisions to address new forms of complex financial transactions are all necessary elements of effective financial reform," Romney states in his economic plan.
"But these concepts must be translated into law in a way that creates a simple, predictable, and efficient regulatory system appropriate for our dynamic economy."
This language falls well short of a specific legislative proposal, but it does make clear that Romney would not seek to return to the days when derivatives were unregulated, and that he believes that it's appropriate to force financial institutions to hold more capital than they were required to maintain prior to the 2008 crisis.
Romney also states he will seek to amend Sarbanes-Oxley to remove what he calls the law's unreasonable burdens on mid-sized companies.
"Many of its requirements were designed for large companies but impose onerous burdens when applied to mid-size firms," Romney states. "The result is that smaller companies are penalized for growing larger, and those attempting to make the leap are discouraged from seeking out the investment capital with which to expand."
The six largest U.S. banks seem to like what they're hearing from Romney. Through June 30, Romney raised more than three times as much money from those banks — Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo — as President Obama did.
