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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Did the US government response to the 2008 financial crisis include major new regulations on banks?

Thursday, January 14, 2021

By Austin Tannenbaum

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YES

The Dodd-Frank Act of 2010—the U.S. government's major policy response to the 2008 financial crisis—imposed a number of new checks on banks operating in the U.S. The act:

• Created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which protects consumers against predatory acts by banks, mortgage brokers and other financial institutions.

• Created the Financial Stability Oversight Council to prevent banks from engaging in overly risky behaviors.

• Created the Office of Credit Ratings to regulate credit-rating agencies.

• Established the Volcker rule, which restricts banks' ability to use customer deposits for risky investments.

• Established regulations for derivatives trading.

• Established mandatory monitoring of hedge funds.

Several measures have been loosened since 2010, including an easing of regulations on small banks and a weakening of the Volcker rule.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Obama White House: President Barack Obama—Wall Street reform: the Dodd-Frank Act

The Balance: What is the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act?

Sherman and Sterling: First major Dodd-Frank reform bill signed into law

Axios: Federal regulators weaken Wall Street rules

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR

Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.