Lobbying costs on Wall Street are on pace to hit $200mn this year.  Don't suppose some of that money can be diverted for retaining some jobs?  No, I didn't think so.

With the Dodd-Frank Reform Act one year old, the legions of lobbyists continue their assault on Washington, effectively biting the hand that fed the industry during the financial crisis.  And, as everyone knows, revenge is sweet - and what better way is there to get back at the naysayers than by chipping away at the financial laws before the regulators can to establish and implement implement.  As the focus on everyone's hit list, Dodd-Frank never really had a chance.

How Do You Spend $100+ Million?   JPMorgan's in-house lobbyist alone spent $3.3 million - a slight uptick over last year - while the American Banks Association has far spent $4.6mn.  Other big banks are on the list.  All told, regulators held oer 2,100 Dodd-Frank meetings since the law passed last July.  The CFTC, in particular, has been a busy meeting spot - Chairman Gary Gensler alone, is the leading regulator with at least 165 meetings on Dodd-Frank.  Elizabeth Warren, perhaps on behalf of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, logged in with 106 meetings.  Haven't seen the numbers for SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, [C-I Note:  Funny, coulda sworn it was the Center for 'Proactive' Politics.], “In 2010, the Dodd-Frank financial reform was one of the biggest shows in town, and that continues this year.”  Yet, as big as 2011 has been on the D.C. party and meeting circuit, it turns out it turns out that overall lobbying is down about 5% from last year. 

Achieved Intended Results.   Apparently, the lobbyists made a difference.  Focusing their fight in recent months on the first major batch of Dodd-Frank deadlines that came due in July, pressure from industry lobbyists forced encouraged regulators to back off.  In June, the CFTC and the SEC agreed to delay the derivatives rules for up to 6 months.  The CFTC also decided to back off a plan to curb banks’ control over the derivatives market. 

Wall Street also manAged to get the Federal Reserve to soften restrictions on fees that banks charge retailers for debit card purchases.  That change alone saved the financial industry some $3.5 billion a year.

So, as you see, why should the industry plow its money back into people, when there's too much money to be made or saved through lobbyin efforts.    [Dealbook, 8/1/11]