Regarding the U.S. financial regulatory reform bill passing the Senate, The Economist suggests, "If the history of financial legislation is any guide, consider the 'Sarbanes-Oxley Act'; new laws will lead to some unintended consequences." After the Enron scandal, the United States enacted the strict Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which required CEOs and CFOs of U.S.-listed companies to take an oath, with severe penalties for fraudulent financial reporting. This resulted in high costs for corporate listings and a loss of clients.
Therefore, analysts point out that if the new regulatory measures lead to a decline in U.S. financial competitiveness, such as causing an exodus of financial talent or a decrease in corporate profits, the U.S. government will not sit idly by and may pressure other countries to maintain "policy convergence" with it.
Yin Xingmin, Deputy Director of the Center for China Economic Studies at Fudan University, told the China Business News that after the United States passed the financial regulatory bill, Europe, as a greater victim of this crisis, might introduce "more stringent" bills, and Europe has already begun discussing relevant regulatory standards. He also pointed out that the excessive expansion of the British and American financial industries is known as the "Anglo-Saxon phenomenon," and there will be a game of interests between continental European countries and the UK/U.S. regarding regulatory standards.
Ding Yifan, Deputy Director of the Institute of World Development at the Development Research Center of the State Council, recently pointed out that the European financial regulatory system is still far from unified to this day; not to mention the differences between continental Europe and the United States, even continental Europe and the United Kingdom are not entirely the same. Therefore, in this regard, "there will still be some bargaining between Europe and the United States."
Lu Hongjun, Dean of the Shanghai International Finance Institute, pointed out in his article on U.S. financial regulation that as financial regulation has gradually become a new core competitiveness of a nation, "China should avoid remaining outside the international financial regulatory alliance and should substantively participate in the system and design of the new financial regulatory framework."
When discussing the impact on China's financial regulation, Yin Xingmin stated that the UK and the U.S. have always been regarded by China as a "blueprint" for the financial industry. This U.S. financial reform serves as a form of "preemptive prevention" for China and has a positive impact on strengthening China's financial risk prevention.
