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U.S. Plans to Tighten Financial Oversight Scrutiny to Increase on Hedge Funds and Pay for Executives
Monday, March 23, 2009 6:54 AM


(Source: International Herald Tribune)trackingBy Stephen Labaton

Landon Thomas contributed reporting from London.

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The administration of President Barack Obama plans to seek increased oversight of hedge funds and new rules for executive pay at all banks, Wall Street firms and possibly other companies as part of a sweeping overhaul of financial regulation, government officials have said.

The outlines of the plan are expected to be made known this week in preparation for Mr. Obama's first summit meeting with leaders of other countries in early April.

The meeting, of the Group of 20 nations in London, is expected to be dominated by the global financial crisis and discussions on better oversight of large financial companies whose problems could threaten to undermine international markets.

The decision to increase oversight of executive pay has been under consideration for some time but was solidified in recent days as public fury over bonuses has spilled into the regulatory effort. It indicates how specific and targeted the administration intends to be in its proposed regulatory overhaul.

The details were still being debated within the Obama administration, with some White House officials pushing for absolute limits on all employees' pay at companies receiving government bailout money. One proposal under discussion could impose greater requirements on the boards of companies to more closely tie executive compensation to corporate performance and take other steps to assure that outsized bonuses are not paid before meeting financial goals.

The new rules will cover all U.S. financial institutions, including some not now affected by any pay rules because they are not getting U.S. bailout funds. Officials say it could also be applied more broadly to other companies as well.

Last month, as part of the stimulus package, Congress barred top executives at large banks getting rescue money from receiving bonuses exceeding one-third of their annual pay.

Officials also said the regulatory plan is expected to call for a broad new role for the Federal Reserve to oversee large companies, including major hedge funds, whose problems could pose risks to the entire financial system.

It will propose that many kinds of derivatives and other exotic financial instruments that contributed to the crisis be traded on exchanges or through clearinghouses so they are more transparent and can be more tightly regulated. And to protect consumers, it will call for U.S. government standards for mortgage lenders beyond what the Federal Reserve adopted last year, as well as more aggressive enforcement of the mortgage rules.




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