Financial Transparency Coalition

Chairman Dodd, Ranking Member Shelby, members of the Banking Committee. I'm pleased to be here today to testify about the Administration's plan for financial regulatory reform.

WASHINGTON – President Obama will lay out a comprehensive regulatory reform plan this afternoon to modernize and protect the integrity of our financial system. While this crisis has had many causes, it is clear now that the government could have done more to prevent these problems from growing out of control and threatening our overall economy.

I want to thank Minister Tremonti for bringing us here to this beautiful city of Lecce. We meet at a time of transition in the global economy. The force of the economic storm is receding. There are encouraging signs of stabilization across many economies.

This report by the House of Commons recognizes the devastating impact that tax havens have on developing countries, stating: "developing countries suffer disproportionately from the existence of tax havens which prevent them receiving much-needed tax revenue which they should derive from economic activity within their borders. The ending of tax havens is necessary, not only for reasons of justice but also to promote good governance and robust management of public finances in poor countries."