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February 18, 2020 at 12:31 PM
Presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg would restore the Labor Department’s now-defunct fiduciary rule as well as institute a .01% financial transaction tax, according to his just-released financial reform policy.
The three-term New York City mayor would also beef up the Volcker Rule and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as well as “accelerate” the creation of the Consolidated Audit Trail, or CAT.
Discussing the now-defunct Labor Department fiduciary rule, Bloomberg said that “investment professionals who work on commissions — such as brokers and insurance agents — often steer less sophisticated customers into expensive financial products and away from better, cheaper alternatives. The extra fees add up to billions of dollars a year, money that would otherwise go toward ensuring retirees’ financial security.”
Labor “issued a rule requiring such investment advisers to disclose conflicts and put clients’ interests first. The Trump administration has reversed the rule,” Bloomberg said.
Citing the “profound” impact the 2008 financial crisis had on the economy and “how close it brought the world to economic collapse — authorities everywhere should be doing all in their power to fix the flaws it revealed,” Bloomberg said. “Yet the Trump administration is rolling back what safeguards were put in place, and none of the candidates for president is offering a viable alternative.”
The 0.1% tax on all financial transactions, including stocks, bonds and payments on derivative contracts, “would be phased in gradually, starting at 0.02%, to monitor and minimize any unintended consequences,” according to Bloomberg’s plan.
