The US Council Institutional Investors (CII) and individual institutional investors have voiced their continued opposition to the Financial CHOICE Act, which has been proposed and passed by the House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee.

The CII and over 50 institutional investors delivered letters opposing the provisions of the Financial CHOICE Act that they believe would hurt investors. This follows an earlier letter sent by the investor group to the Committee when the Act was formally launched by its chairman, Jeb Hensarling, last month.

The latest letter,  from the CII and co-signed by public, trade union and religious pension funds and asset managers, outlined five concerns with the CHOICE Act including that it would effectively block shareholder proposals, roll back curbs on abusive pay practices and burden the Securities and Exchange Commission with unneeded cost-benefit requirements.

There has been a campaign against the Act since last year when Hensarling first proposed the law. However, with the election of Donald Trump as well as the dominance of the Republicans in both houses has led the Committee to believe that it may now get the support to become law. The proposed legislation is the Republican’s response to the Dodd-Act Frank Act which was passed in the wake of the 2008 financial crash. However, the Committee believes that the Dodd-Frank Act has failed, highlighting the slow rate of economic recovery in the US and claiming that it enshrined bank bailouts in law.

Speaking as he launched the Act Hensarling said: “The Financial CHOICE Act also brings greater accountability to both Wall Street and Washington. It imposes the toughest penalties in history for those who commit financial fraud, deception and insider trading, and it provides much-needed oversight and accountability to Washington bureaucrats’ regulatory overreach that imposes immense costs to job creation and the economy.

“Under Dodd-Frank, consumers are paying more and getting less. Their costs have gone up, and they have fewer choices, more hassles and less access to credit. True consumer protection comes from competitive, transparent and innovative markets that are vigorously policed for fraud and deception. This is precisely what the Financial CHOICE Act will do.”

Last Updated: 19 May 2017