ICI: Senate Bill Still Needs Work

The financial regulatory reform bill recently approved by the Senate could be improved to address several key issues that could negatively impact mutual funds, said Paul Schott Stevens, president and CEO of the Investment Company Institute.

“The bill passed by the Senate could subject mutual funds to unworkable forms of bank-like regulation, in the unlikely event that regulators deem a mutual fund a source of systemic risk," Stevens said.

He said Senate Bill 3217 raises concerns for mutual funds that are creditors of a non-bank financial company undergoing an ‘orderly liquidation’ as outlined in the bill, because the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation would have the discretion to treat similarly situated creditors differently. Financial contracts such as repurchase agreements would not be promptly enforceable, he said.

The fund industry is also concerned with Section 917 of the bill that authorizes the Comptroller General of the U.S. to do a study of mutual fund advertisements to determine whether including past performance data is helpful or misleading.

"America’s mutual funds invest nearly $12 trillion on behalf of their almost 90 million shareholders, all of whom benefit from a sound, well-regulated financial system," Stevens said. "The sweeping legislation that emerges from this process will impact financial services and the financial markets for generations, and it is imperative to get it right."

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