The number of new arbitrations filed with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority through August 2009 is up 65 percent over the same time period last year. But changes proposed by the Obama Administration may cause that number to decline and the number of suits filed in federal or state court to rise. On June 17, 2009, the Department of the Treasury released Financial Regulatory Reform — A New Foundation offering recommendations designed to, among other things, "[p]romote robust supervision and regulation of financial firms" and "[e]stablish comprehensive supervision of financial markets." With respect to consumers, the Treasury Department recommends the creation of a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency with the authority to restrict or ban mandatory arbitration clauses in consumer contracts. Should this recommendation be implemented by Congress, members of the securities industry may see a decline in the number of disputes resolved by arbitration.
Conventional wisdom would
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