Title 12 — Banks and BankingRelease 119-73not60

§5227 Study and Report on Margin Authority

Title 12 › Chapter 52— EMERGENCY ECONOMIC STABILIZATION › Subchapter I— TROUBLED ASSETS RELIEF PROGRAM › § 5227

Last updated Apr 3, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Comptroller General must study how borrowing (leverage) and sudden cuts in borrowing by financial firms helped cause the financial crisis. The study must look at the roles of the Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Secretary, and other federal banking agencies in watching and limiting leverage; examine the Board’s power to control leverage (including margin rules), how it decided whether to use that power, and any times it used margin authority; and give recommendations for the Board and the proper congressional committees. The report must be finished and sent by June 1, 2009 to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the House Committee on Financial Services, and also given to the Congressional Oversight Panel.

Full Legal Text

Title 12, §5227

Banks and Banking — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Comptroller General shall undertake a study to determine the extent to which leverage and sudden deleveraging of financial institutions was a factor behind the current financial crisis.

(b)The study required by this section shall include—

(1)an analysis of the roles and responsibilities of the Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Secretary, and other Federal banking agencies with respect to monitoring leverage and acting to curtail excessive leveraging;

(2)an analysis of the authority of the Board to regulate leverage, including by setting margin requirements, and what process the Board used to decide whether or not to use its authority;

(3)an analysis of any usage of the margin authority by the Board; and

(4)recommendations for the Board and appropriate committees of Congress with respect to the existing authority of the Board.

(c)Not later than June 1, 2009, the Comptroller General shall complete and submit a report on the study required by this section to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives.

(d)Any reports required under this section shall also be submitted to the Congressional Oversight Panel established under section 5233 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

12 U.S.C. § 5227

Title 12 — Banks and Banking

Last Updated

Apr 3, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60