Financial Regulatory Forum

      By John Kemp — John Kemp is a Reuters columnist. The  views expressed are his own – 
   LONDON, April 16 (Reuters) – It is now virtually certain financial reform legislation will go sailing through the Senate, following the complaint filed against Goldman Sachs <GS.N> and an employee in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by the Securities and Exchange Commission this afternoon.
   Filing a complaint is not the same as proving it. Goldman Sachs has already stated that “The SEC’s charges are completely unfounded in law and fact and we will vigorously contest them and defend the firm and its reputation”.
   But in the current environment, no one in Washington, certainly not the 41 Republican senators who would all be needed to block the bill’s progress or force significant amendments, will want to go on record defending the big banks.
   Industry lobbyists will have their hands full handling the fallout from today’s actions.
   The unintended consequence of the complaint is that financial reform is now effectively through Congress.
   The various versions should be reconciled in conference in time for the bill to land on the president’s desk sometime before the legislature adjourns for the mid-term elections.
   
   ((john.kemp@thomsonreuters.com; reuters messaging: john.kemp.reuters.com@reuters.net; +44 207 542 9726))
 Keywords: COLUMN GS/FINANCIAL REFORM
  
Friday, 16 April 2010 18:26:33RTRS [nLDE63F222] {C}ENDS