On October 1, 2010, the US Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) convened for the first time and approved a number of documents related to its duties under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The FSOC, which operates within the US Department of Treasury under the direction of US Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, is tasked with identifying threats to the financial stability of the US, promoting market discipline, and responding to emerging risks to the stability of the US financial system. At its inaugural meeting, the council adopted bylaws and transparency policy, and issued a request for information and study recommendations regarding the council's study of the so-called Volcker Rule. In August 2010, Geithner told the media that the FSOC and other regulatory bodies will work to forge an "international agreement" among the world's financial institutions and regulators on a set of new capitalization rules to prevent a "race to the bottom" of risk standards among investors in the global market.



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