A Friend to the Bank: Barney Frank?

It is a most unusual circumstance.  Democrat Barney Frank is considered by many to be a liberal.  And liberals typically do not make for friendly business counterparts, at least this is what we are lead to believe.

But Barney Frank is different and it helps he is chair of the financial services committee.  The banks have an unusual ally in Mr. Frank.

Last week, he announced intentions to overturn a draconian Internet gambling ban ruthlessly tacked onto the back of an all important unrelated port security bill by Senators Jon Kyl and Bill Frist this past September.

The new law does not take into account current technology.  It requires banking institutions to monitor all money transactions between gamblers and online bet takers, something the banks have insisted is completely and utterly impossible. 

Frank's repeal of this law is sure to place a smile on the faces of bankers worldwide, not just in the United States, since Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland had become key players in the burgeoning industry.  Poker players and other gamers across the US are already praising Frank for his willingness to restore their favorite pastime.

Just days later, Barney Frank insisted that banks should be exempted from SOX 404 compliance because they are already subject to similar provisions in an earlier law.

A posting in the Wall Street Journal Technology Blog reads:

The congressman, now in his twenty-sixth year in office, wants companies to allow shareholders to have an annual nonbinding advisory vote on their company’s executive compensation plan. Frank doesn’t believe that last year’s SEC executive compensation rules went far enough to change the way compensation is determined between boards and chief executives, nor does it give shareholders a better way help tailor their company’s executive compensation approach. This stance certainly doesn’t sit well with big business. And expect tougher rules on executive compensation, especially since the House Financial Services Committee oversees the SEC.

Yet, as mentioned, Frank thinks that banks shouldn’t be forced to comply with SOX 404 because they already comply through the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), according to a spokesperson from Frank’s office. This stance, alone, should make Frank the Congressman of the Year on Wall Street.

The author suggests that while Frank does advocate lessening SOX 404 provisions and fine-tuning some rules, he does see their value.

"Although confusing, it’s refreshing to see a committee chairman have an agenda that doesn’t fall in line, lock step, with his party’s traditional mantra," the author injects.  ---- Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Originally published March 20, 2007 12:36 am ET