“Two of Wall Street’s top regulators are due to receive much smaller increases in their budgets than they requested, potentially hobbling their ability to police the markets for wrongdoing.
“The $1.1 trillion spending bill unveiled by the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate would allot the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission $1.35 billion for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2014.
“The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, meanwhile, would get $215 million for the remainder of the fiscal year.
“Both budget numbers are well below the funding levels requested by President Barack Obama, and represent very small increases to their current spending levels, despite the new responsibilities each have taken on after the financial crisis.
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“The law empowered the SEC and CFTC to take on new responsibilities in the wake of the financial crisis, such as overseeing over-the-counter derivatives.
“‘It is shameful that Wall Street’s allies in Congress have again failed to fund the very agencies that are charged with protecting Main Street and preventing another financial crisis,’ said Dennis Kelleher, the president of Better Markets.”
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Read full Reuters article here
