Blanche Lincoln

  • 26 May 2010 at 4:50 PM

Blanche Lincoln’s Derivatives Provision All But Dead Now

By Zachery Kouwe

Blanche Lincoln’s famed derivatives legislation, which would basically prevent any big bank from ever trading CDS again, has already been chastised by Barney Frank. Now, a senior Treasury official has essentially delivered another blow to the Lincoln legislation.

In a briefing for reporters today, Assistant Treasury Secretary Michael Barr said the derivatives rules were not part of the administration’s four “core objectives” for financial reform. Translation: The Lincoln legislation can die a slow death for all we care. Continue reading »

  • 25 May 2010 at 1:24 PM

Barney Frank Deals a Death Blow to Derivatives Reform

By Zachery Kouwe

Barney Frank just delivered a speech at Compliance Week’s annual conference in Washington D.C. and he seems to have confirmed what Goldman Sachs analysts told us yesterday – new legislation that forces banks to spin-off their derivatives business probably won’t make it into the final financial reform bill. Continue reading »

  • 21 May 2010 at 4:06 PM

Blanche Lincoln Ain’t Backing Down from Derivatives Overhaul

By Zachery Kouwe

Sen. Blanche Lincoln, Arkansas Democrat, was able to push her controversial derivatives amendment into the financial regulatory reform bill yesterday, despite threats from Wall Street. And any banker that thinks Blanche is going to back off derivatives reform after she wins the Arkansas primary runoff on June 8 has no clue how hard-nosed she really is.

“Suggestions that my provisions are the result of the current political climate are completely baseless,” Ms. Lincoln told DealBook. “I am not concerned about politics when Americans are depending on us to ensure that our financial system is secure.”

We’ll see about that. In the meantime, we wonder if Sen. Lincoln is tough enough to do a Dunkaroo – an old Arkansas drinking tradition perfected in Little Rock. Continue reading »