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CCCA_V5No2_Q&A_ARSorkin-FIN.qxd:CCCA_V1No1_DriversSeat-FIN.qxd &A 5/12/11 2:52 PM Page 37 Feature Andrew Ross Sorkin on Wall Street’s short memory Andrew Ross Sorkin discusses debt and leverage in the U.S., lessons lost on Wall Street and what might save the world from the next financial cataclysm. The New York Times columnist and author of Too Big to Fail, sat down with Senior Editor Yves Faguy at the CCCA Spring Conference. CCCA Magazine: We’re hearing a lot about political Commission (SEC) or the Federal Deposit Insurance pressure in the U.S. to water down the impact of the Corporation (FDIC), all sorts of members of industry are work- Dodd–Frank Act.What’s the state of play regarding reg- ing with each group on whichever provision it is that they ulatory reform right now? would be overseeing to say,“You know what? I know it says this but there’s an opportunity to think about it like this.” Andrew Ross Sorkin: The state of play right now is that we have this bill — Dodd-Frank — that’s been passed but all the Are there too many regulators? provisions and elements of the bill really only provide an outline ARS: What people are describing as an alphabet soup of regu- for what’s supposed to happen. So it’s up to the regulators who lators in the U.S. is a problem, I think. It’s a problem are in office today to really execute the law.And, so, when peo- because we don’t know who's minding the store. Now ple talk about this bill being watered down, what they really that can mean one of two things: it either creates compe- mean is that the actual details of how each provision is supposed tition which could be a good thing and actually would to work in practice is up for grabs. And that’s the jumble, for raise the bar, or it creates zero accountability and respon- everybody. And so provision by provision, office by office, sibility because you can easily say,“Ah,that wasn’t me,that department by department,whether it’s the Commodity Futures was you”, in which case we’re lowering the bar. Trading Commission (CFTC) or the Securities Exchange ÉTÉ 2011 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association 37