Financial Chiefs Say Cooperation Key To Implementing Wall Street Reform

The heads of nearly every major federal regulatory agency told members of the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday that they are working together to slowly craft new rules that will govern the way the nation’s private financial sector operates.

Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Ben Bernanke said cooperation between agencies is crucial to successfully implementing provisions within the Wall Street reform bill that was passed earlier this year.

“It is essential that the (law) be carried out expeditiously and effectively,” Bernanke said. “Coordination’s going to be extremely important.”

Bernanke was joined on Capitol Hill by SEC Chairwoman Mary Schapiro, FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Bair and Deputy Treasury Secretary Neil Wolin. As part of the new law, the group will meet weekly with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to examine the stability of the financial sector.

Over the course of the next few weeks, the agency heads will collaborate on writing new rules that will dictate the behavior of big financial companies nationwide. Specifically, one of their duties will be to identify and monitor so-called “too big to fail” firms.