Financial Regulatory Reform Bill

Paul Volcker, chairman of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board for President Barack Obama, is set to step down from the position next month. As a key adviser to the president, Volcker has advocated for tougher financial regulations and counseled the government on fiscal policy.

Some top financial institutions are moving surprisingly quickly to change how they operate. Question is: Did the financial reform law force their hands, or is this just a good time for big banks to rethink their business?

During a speech Monday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pledged a speedy implementation of the financial system overhaul. One of the first tasks on the list? Simplifying all the paperwork.

The market for asset-backed securities has reopened after being frozen for a week. It's the first example of how unintended consequences from the Dodd-Frank overhaul can create mischief in the financial markets. Are bigger changes coming?

The effects of the Dodd-Frank financial regulation reform bill will clearly be sweeping, even if not all quite predictable. At this early point, here's a rundown of some of the biggest likely winners from the now-passed legislation.

Democrats moved a step closer to passing a Wall Street reform bill -- and handing President Barack Obama an election-year victory -- after securing the support of three Republican senators: Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both of Maine, and Scott Brown of Massachusetts.

The bill's limits on hedge fund and private equity investments could force Goldman to divest billions in assets, which would lower its earnings. However, the bill also lets banks stretch out their compliance with the new rules by several years, postponing the pain.

Nearly two years after the U.S. banking system imploded, House Democrats passed a financial regulatory reform bill intended to avoid the calamity's recurrence. The Senate delayed action on the bill as Dems try to muster the needed votes.

Some pros are aiming straight at the eye of the financial hurricane, buying into the besieged banks. Here's why: The uncertainty threatening them has dissipated, and banks will now start looking for new ways to profit from the new rules.

Elizabeth King, formerly of the SEC's trading and markets division, has joined Getco's team. How much progress can the SEC make in curbing high-frequency traders like Getco with former SEC leaders on Getco's payroll?