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Message: 1 From: U.S. Department of the Treasury
<subscriptions@subscriptions.treas.gov> Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010
07:20:46 -0500 (CDT) Subject: Under Secretary Brainard Remarks at the
Institute of International Bankers? Regulatory Dialogue
Under Secretary Brainard Remarks at the Institute of International
Bankers? Regulatory Dialogue [
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/tg903.htm ]
October 11, 2010
TG-903
*Under Secretary for International Affairs Lael Brainard Remarks at
the Institute of International Bankers' Breakfast Regulatory Dialogue
with Government Officials*
*"As Prepared for Delivery"*
Good morning. I would like to thank IIB for hosting this event. It's a
pleasure to be here.
We have just concluded a series of meetings with finance officials
from around the world at the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the
IMF. The dominant focus was the need for greater cooperation and
coordination to steer the global economy onto a path of stronger and
more balanced growth. Officials from around the world emphasized the
critical responsibility of each major economy to support the global
adjustment process. When some countries engage in policies of
competitive non appreciation
that impede global adjustment, it exacerbates adjustment challenges
for other countries--whether through intensified capital inflows or
diminished trade opportunities--and lowers growth overall.
To ensure more sustainable and balanced growth will require not only
national policy actions in each of our countries, but also stronger
international agreement on the rules of the game and a framework to
ensure coordination.
Stronger rules of the game and greater international
coordination--these are also the key requirements of a sounder and
more resilient financial system. As everyone gathered in this room
acutely understands, the financial crisis took an immense toll on our
businesses, families and workers. We are still healing from the
crisis, and we are still working to strengthen the global recovery and
repair the financial system.
As you know, the United States is aggressively pursuing financial
reform at home. The historic Dodd-Frank legislation, which my
colleague Bill Dudley will address, is the most far reaching reform of
our financial system in decades.
But one of the fundamental lessons of the crisis is that national
efforts, by themselves, while necessary, may not be sufficient:
globally synchronized financial markets require globally convergent
financial standards. International coordination is critical to ensure
that efforts to promote safety and soundness in one major financial
jurisdiction are reinforced and not undermined by other jurisdictions,
globally active institutions are overseen by globally coordinated
authorities, and the
playing field is level. That is why we are pursuing a common agenda
across the major financial jurisdictions through the G-20, the FSB,
the IMF, and the international standard setting bodies.
But while our domestic reforms are comprehensive, our efforts to
achieve international convergence are selective. Where financial
activities and transactions migrate rapidly across borders in response
to minute differentials, we are working to achieve international
harmonization. Where longstanding differences in national institutions
and business models call for tailored national solutions, we are
working internationally to share best practices and principles. And
where cooperative action
across borders is needed, we are working to establish complementary
national regulatory foundations coupled with international frameworks
for cooperation.
"Achieving Convergence on Capital, Derivatives, and Hedge Funds"
Why do we need convergent international financial regulatory
standards? I'd suggest that we can answer that question by simply
looking around the room. Decades of technological innovation and
globalization have created an interconnected financial system that
requires convergence on core standards to ensure safety and soundness
no less than fairness.
The two biggest issues in this camp are capital and OTC derivatives.
Capital is at the core of the system. Failures in our system of
capital requirements contributed centrally to the severity of the
crisis. Where we had capital requirements, they were too low and they
were not supplemented with complementary liquidity requirements. A set
of financial institutions were allowed to emerge in the shadows of the
banking system with no capital requirements at all. And capital
standards were not applied consistently around the world, with banks
in some jurisdictions
allowed to operate with low levels of capital relative to the risks
they took on.
At last year's Pittsburgh Summit, President Obama and other G-20
Leaders, called for financial institutions to raise the quality and
quantity of capital, strengthen liquidity standards and implement
rules to limit leverage. Strengthening capital requirements and
ensuring more stable funding for major financial institutions was an
important objective of our domestic legislation. Together, the
Dodd-Frank Act and the Basel III capital framework are designed to
ensure that major financial
institutions here and around the world are subject to rigorous and
consistent capital requirements.
The new Basel III capital accord will significantly tighten the system
of global capital requirements in a number of important ways. The new
rules will increase the proportion of capital that must be in the form
of common equity--the form that can best absorb losses--and will
restrict forms, such as deferred tax assets, which proved to have
little value during the crisis. Banks will be required to hold more
capital against the kinds of risky products and activities that caused
such damage two
years ago. In addition, the new Basel framework will apply a leverage
ratio to banks. And Basel III will impose minimum liquidity
requirements for the first time to help banks weather unexpected
funding shocks.
The new Basel III requirements will be the bedrock of the new, more
resilient global financial system, and America is committed to
implement Basel III.
Similarly, the opaqueness of the OTC derivatives market contributed
centrally to the uncertainty that sapped market confidence in the
crisis. Lack of understanding about derivatives exposures made it
difficult for firms to fully assess counter party risk. This added to
the reluctance to extend credit and was a further drain on liquidity.
Recognizing the global reach of these markets, we have worked
internationally to develop common standards for derivatives trading.
G-20 Leaders committed to bring standardized OTC derivatives trades
onto organized trading platforms, as appropriate. Leaders also
committed to ensure that all standardized contracts would be executed
through central counterparties, to help reduce bilateral exposures
between firms. Finally, Leaders called for all OTC contracts to be
reported to trade repositories,
so that supervisors could better monitor systemic risks.
The Dodd-Frank Act implements these G-20 commitments, and goes
further, providing strong oversight of major derivatives markets
participants and market infrastructure. And the EU is working on a
parallel track to introduce consistent reforms across European
markets.
It is also vital to have common agreement on the regulation of hedge
funds, and to extend the perimeter of regulation to ensure stronger
oversight of these funds. We have pursued international agreement on
the same approach adopted by the United States: requiring all advisers
to hedge funds, above a threshold, to register and report appropriate
information so that regulators can assess whether any fund poses a
threat to overall financial stability by virtue of its size, leverage,
or
interconnectedness. And to impose heightened supervisory and
prudential standards on entities that do.
It is essential to ensure convergence of regulatory treatment for
hedge funds to avoid a race to the bottom and promote a level playing
field. Indeed, all the members of the G-20 committed to the same
standards for oversight of hedge funds and to implementing these
standards in a nondiscriminatory manner, and we are working hard to
ensure these commitments are fulfilled.
"Common Principles and Differentiated Practices"
At the other end of the spectrum lies a set of issues that may be
informed by common international principles, but where our national
efforts are most effectively tailored to national circumstances.
We have long recognized differences in the institutional structure of
national financial systems, reflecting different laws and histories.
The United States has long placed restrictions on the scope of
activities undertaken by banks, while some countries in Europe and
elsewhere have long experience with universal banking models. In order
to ensure the financial safety net is not extended to activities it
was never intended to cover, the Dodd-Frank Act would place certain
restrictions on banks
engaging in proprietary trading and involvement with hedge funds.
Other countries may take different approaches to ensure against
excessive risk taking by their banking institutions, appropriate to
the particulars of their own institutional structures.
Similarly, one of the central achievements of Dodd Frank will be to
create strong and consistent regulation and supervision of consumer
financial services to protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, and
abusive practices. We look forward to consulting with UK and other
authorities that also put a high priority on this shared agenda, while
recognizing this is fundamentally a domestic imperative.
"International Cooperation "
Finally, let me address a core part of our reform agenda where the
most effective approach is likely to combine elements of international
convergence and cooperation while recognizing different national
contexts.
Addressing Too Big to Fail is at the heart of our efforts domestically
in The Dodd-Frank Act and internationally through the G-20, FSB, and
Basel Committee. There is growing international consensus that an
effective solution to reduce the moral hazard associated with large
interconnected financial institutions must include at a minimum more
intensive supervision, heightened loss absorbency capacity--reflected
in Basel III--and effective resolution tools and frameworks.
The G-20 agreed that large and complex financial institutions require
particularly careful oversight given their systemic importance. In the
United States, the Dodd-Frank Act has addressed the issue of systemic
firms by bringing all bank holding companies with assets over $50
billion, as well as non-bank financial firms deemed to be systemic by
our new Financial Stability Oversight Council, under our new enhanced
supervision regime. The EU, for its part, is institutionalizing a new
European
Systemic Risk Board, and some countries are instituting new national
oversight mechanisms.
Instituting strong national resolution regimes is also central to this
effort and a key building block for effective cross-border resolution
frameworks. In March, the Basel Committee made an important
contribution with its 10 key recommendations on the cross-border
resolution of banks and non-banks, and G-20 Leaders in Toronto
committed to implementing them. In the months ahead, it will be
important to review implementation at the national level.
And there is an important FSB work agenda to ensure that national
resolution frameworks mesh to provide a strong foundation for
cross-border resolution, ring-fencing and burden-sharing are
effectively addressed, and cooperative frameworks are developed among
supervisors consistent with firm specific resolution and recovery
plans. More analysis will be needed to determine the feasibility of
contingent and bail-in capital instruments, which could contribute to
loss absorbency and serve as
complements to effective resolution frameworks, as Paul Tucker will address.
Let me conclude by noting that the leading economies have made
significant strides in advancing international financial regulatory
reform. With the enactment of The Dodd-Frank Act and agreement on
Basel III, and with important parallel efforts underway in other major
jurisdictions, the outlines of a more resilient financial system are
now clearly in sight. We look forward to working with our partners on
implementation of these efforts in the months and years ahead.
Thank you.
###
Message: 2 From: U.S. Department of the Treasury
<subscriptions@subscriptions.treas.gov> Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2010
08:00:39 -0500 (CDT) Subject: U.S. Department of the Treasury
Miscellaneous Items, Quick Notice Sales (IRS) Update
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Message: 3 From: U.S. Department of the Treasury
<subscriptions@subscriptions.treas.gov> Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2010
08:01:58 -0500 (CDT) Subject: U.S. Department of the Treasury
Commercial/Industrial Property, Equipment and Supplies (IRS) Update
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Message: 4 From: U.S. Department of the Treasury
<subscriptions@subscriptions.treas.gov> Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2010
08:02:35 -0500 (CDT) Subject: U.S. Department of the Treasury
Antiques, Art, Jewelry, & Collectibles (IRS) Update
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Message: 5 From: U.S. Department of the Treasury
<subscriptions@subscriptions.treas.gov> Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2010
08:02:47 -0500 (CDT) Subject: U.S. Department of the Treasury Firearms
(IRS) Update
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Message: 6 From: U.S. Department of the Treasury
<subscriptions@subscriptions.treas.gov> Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2010
09:04:39 -0500 (CDT) Subject: adf
adf [ http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/adf.htm ]
October 12, 2010
adf
*asdf*
asdf
Message: 7 From: U.S. Department of the Treasury
<subscriptions@subscriptions.treas.gov> Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2010
11:02:11 -0500 (CDT) Subject: Treasury Targets Sinaloa Cartel
Financial and Air Cargo Networks
Treasury Targets Sinaloa Cartel Financial and Air Cargo Networks [
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/tg905.htm ]
October 13, 2010
TG-905
*Treasury Targets Sinaloa Cartel Financial and Air Cargo Networks *
*WASHINGTON* -The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign
Assets Control (OFAC) today designated as foreign narcotics
traffickers Sinaloa Cartel collaborator Alejandro Flores Cacho, along
with 12 entities and 16 members of his financial and drug trafficking
enterprise located throughout Mexico and Colombia. Today's
designations were taken pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin
Designation Act (Kingpin Act), which prohibits U.S. persons from
conducting transactions with the
designees and freezes any assets they may have under U.S.
jurisdiction. Alejandro Flores Cacho, a pilot, controls a
multinational drug transport network in coordination with Sinaloa
Cartel members Joaquin Guzman Loera and Ismael Zambada Garcia, both of
whom were previously identified by the President as significant
foreign narcotics traffickers pursuant to the Kingpin Act.
Today's action exposes Alejandro Flores Cacho's cadre of pilots and
operatives who coordinate the delivery and distribution of narcotics
by air and sea from South America to Mexico and then on to the United
States. Flores Cacho's organization's aviation wing is supported by
"Mantenimiento, Aeronautica, Transporte, y Servicios Aereos S.A. de
C.V.", an aircraft hangar and maintenance business located in Toluca,
Mexico; "Capicitacion Aeronautica Profesional S.C.", a flight school
in Cuernavaca,
Mexico used to train pilots involved in drug trafficking; and "Aero
Express Intercontinental S.A. de C.V.", a Mexico City-based air cargo
carrier - all designated by OFAC today.
"Today's designation targets the network of Alejandro Flores Cacho,
who has used his air cargo and financial front companies to move drugs
and money on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel," said OFAC Director Adam
Szubin. "Treasury will continue to target the Mexican drug cartels in
support of the Government of Mexico's dedicated and courageous efforts
to combat narcotics trafficking and money laundering."
Flores Cacho's network of financial operatives includes his wife,
Diana Lorena Toro Diaz, and brother, Javier Flores Cacho, who, along
with others, operate a variety of front companies, including a
restaurant, a cattle ranch, an agricultural business, a manufacturing
and distribution firm, a sports management club, an electronics
company, and an office supplies store. Legal advisor and principal
front person for Flores Cacho, Arturo Ruiz de Chavez Martinez, and
Rafael Duarte Torres, a bulk cash
smuggling coordinator for the organization, were also designated today.
OFAC has also blocked pending investigation an additional five
entities located in Mexico City that evidence indicates are owned and
operated by individuals designated today, including Javier Flores
Cacho, Diana Lorena Toro Diaz, Arturo Ruiz de Chavez Martinez, and
Enrique Torres Gomez.
Alejandro Flores Cacho and Ricardo Garcia Sanchez, one of his key
lieutenants also designated today, are fugitives from U.S.
authorities. In May 2008, the U.S. District Court for the Southern
District of Texas indicted both individuals on charges of drug
trafficking and money laundering.
Supported by the Drug Enforcement Administration and its Houston Field
Division, today's action is the latest in a series of efforts by OFAC
to apply financial measures against significant foreign narcotics
traffickers worldwide.
Today's action is complimented by the ongoing efforts of Mexico's
Procuraduria General de la Republica - Subprocuraduria de
Investigacion Especializada en Delincuencia Organizada to combat money
laundering in Mexico.
Internationally, OFAC has designated nearly 800 businesses and
individuals linked to 87 drug kingpins since June 2000. Penalties for
violations of the Kingpin Act range from civil penalties of up to
$1.075 million per violation to more severe criminal penalties.
Criminal penalties for corporate officers may include up to 30 years
in prison and fines up to $5 million. Criminal fines for corporations
may reach $10 million. Other individuals could face up to 10 years in
prison and fines pursuant to
Title 18 of the United States Code for criminal violations of the Kingpin Act.
To view a complete list of individuals and entities designated today,
visit link below.
To view the Flores Cacho network, visit link below.
*LINKS*
* complete list of individuals and entities designated today [
http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/actions/index.shtml ]
* the Flores Cacho network [
http://treas.gov/press/releases/docs/101310 Alejandro Flores Cacho
Press Chart.pdf ]
Message: 8 From: U.S. Department of the Treasury
<subscriptions@subscriptions.treas.gov> Date: Thu, 14 Oct 2010
13:40:48 -0500 (CDT) Subject: U.S. International Reserve Position
U.S. International Reserve Position [
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/2010101414302620735.htm ]
October 14, 2010
2010-10-14-14-30-26-20735
*U.S. International Reserve Position*
The Treasury Department today released U.S. reserve assets data for
the latest week. As indicated in this table, U.S. reserve assets
totaled $134,432 million as of the end of that week, compared to $
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