In the Treasury Department’s white paper on its financial reform plans, the word “robust” is used 47 times in 101 pages. Some choice examples:

· [our plan will] promote robust supervision and regulation of financial firms.

· [financial holding companies] should be subject to robust consolidated supervision and regulation, regardless of whether the firm owns an insured depository institution.

· [the SEC] should require robust reporting by issuers of asset backed securities.

· [the SEC] should promote robust policies and procedures that manage and disclose conflicts of interest [for credit rating agencies].

· The CFPA [consumer financial protection agency] should be an independent agency with stable, robust funding.

· Regulators will need to require that CCPs [central counterparties] impose robust margin requirements

· The CFPA should also establish a robust research and statistics department

It is too early to tell whether the new regulatory regime will be effective, efficient, and equitable. But it will certainly be robust!