Washington Spotlight on the Financial Services Industry

Members of the bipartisan Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) will soon meet for the first time to consider how best to accomplish the sweeping directives mandated by the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 (FERA), which require an examination of all factors that led to the failures of the credit, capital and housing markets and several large Wall Street firms, and that resulted in the $700 billion financial bailout package.

The Commission, made up of six Democrats and four Republicans, has broad-based powers, including the ability to hold hearings, take testimony, receive evidence, administer oaths, subpoena witnesses and documents, and obtain information directly from any relevant government department or instrumentality. Importantly, the Commission also will have the power to seek contempt charges against those who fail to comply with its demands and to make criminal referrals to federal and state authorities if evidence of illegal activity is uncovered.

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