Robert Lavet

Financial Regulation in the 21st Century: Risks, Challenges and Opportunities

Josh Barro, Patrick Cronin, Robert Lavet, Barbara Novick, Mike Sommers, Neal Wolin

A panel of industry leaders and experts from firms like BlackRock, SoFi, and the American Investment Council evaluated the viability of reforming post-crisis regulations like Dodd-Frank and the Volcker Rule following the 2020 election. While acknowledging that capital requirements have reduced systemic failure risks, the group criticized the current framework for excessive complexity, disproportionate burdens on small banks, and the displacement of speculative risk into unregulated sectors. The discussion concluded with a consensus that while major legislative repeal faces political hurdles, future improvements will likely rely on RegTech adoption, proportional regulation based on asset size, and the consolidation of fragmented agency oversight.