The GAO published a report which examined whether or not the Dodd-Frank Act will lower systemic risk and reduce the possibility or severity of a future crisis. The report proved largely inconclusive. According to the report, the increased regulation of complex financial instruments and the enhanced supervision over financial giants, with the possibility of liquidation if they pose a systemic risk, has led some experts to believe that Dodd-Frank will reduce the losses associated with a future crisis. Others, however, speculate that Dodd-Frank's effectiveness depends largely on the rulemaking of

The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held a hearing to evaluate the progress that U.S. regulators have made toward implementing various provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. The Committee heard testimony from, among others, FDIC Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg; Federal Reserve Governor Daniel K. Tarullo; Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry; CFPB Director Richard Cordray; and Mary Miller, Under Secretary for Domestic Finance at the Treasury. Governor Tarullo's testimony discussed both the Federal Reserve's recent regulatory activity and the agency's priorities for 2013. On

The Financial Services Authority has imposed a fine of pound;9.45 million on UBS in relation to the bank's failures in the sale of the AIG Enhanced Variable Rate Fund to nearly 2,000 of its high net worth customers.

CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton spoke at ASU's Agribusiness Conference, addressing problems in the futures markets due to speculation, technology, and the culture of the financial sector. His speech was a recap of various points that he often makes, though with more of an agricultural focus given the location. Below are two of the Commissioner's main points: Commissioner Chilton stated that a primary cause of oil price rises in the summer of 2008 was speculation by "Massive Passives," large pools of managed money such as pension plans, which enter a commodities market and leave their

Federal financial regulatory agencies published in the Federal Register a final rule that establishes new appraisal requirements for "higher-priced mortgage loans". This rule implements the Truth in Lending Act amendments under the Dodd-Frank Act. The rule is being issued by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Effective Date: January 18, 2014. Cross-Reference(s)