Forbes-

Hark. Do you hear it? That sound of ringing bells coming from the nation’s capital as we enter the holiday season? Is it Salvation Army Santas taking to the street corners? Church campaniles playing “Carol of the Bells?” Or maybe angels getting their wings a la the Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life?

Nope. It’s the ka-ching of K Street lobbyists ringing up the billable hours as they pile into the newest industry battle against financial reform. I am speaking of nascent efforts to regulate the multi-trillion dollar asset management industry. This war promises to be even bigger than the one megabanks have waged against the Volcker rule’s proposed ban on speculative trading.

The shot heard ’round the beltway was a seemingly innocuous report by a government research group called, appropriately, the Office of Financial Research or “OFR.” The OFR was created by the Dodd-Frank financial reform law to — among other things — conduct and sponsor research related to “financial stability.” That seems reasonable after the 2008 financial crisis nearly brought down the world economy.

[FORBES]

image: AP

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