Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner says the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) and other regulatory agencies are investigating the possible impacts of the LIBOR scandal on the U.S. financial system. Geithner appeared before the House Financial Services Committee. He says after market concerns were raised about rate manipulation back in 2008, appropriate U.S. regulatory and British officials were notified. Geithner added that LIBOR is structured in a way that’s vulnerable to misreporting and British officials were urged to address the issues.
The Treasury Secretary also answered a number of questions concerning the recently approved Financial Stability Oversight Council’s (FSOC) annual report. The 10-member board created under the Dodd-Frank Act, is made up of seven federal regulators & three non-voting state regulators. One of FSOC’s primary tasks is to monitor the nation’s financial system for any excessive risk and instability.
The committee is chaired by Representative Spencer Bachus.
The Council, created under the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, released its 2012 Annual Report last week. The report gives a review of the policies in the 2000s that led to the financial crisis. It also provides an overview of the vulnerabilities and potential threats to the financial markets and how the agency plans to detect them early.
Among other findings, the report states that the nation's financial system has rebounded since 2009, but still faces challenges due to stress in Europe.
This, the Council’s second annual report, is part of an ongoing process by the U.S. government to identify, interpret and mitigate future problems to financial stability. Two years ago, President Obama signed consumer protection laws in response to the 2008 financial crisis.