Washington – “Business Roundtable opposes the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 in its current form. While we believe that legislation to reform the financial regulatory system is necessary to reduce systemic risk and create a business environment that promotes stable economic growth and job creation, it must address the causes of the recent financial crisis and avoid disrupting America’s fragile economic recovery.

“We are disappointed that as currently written, this legislation not only erodes a great deal of recent bipartisan work, but, if enacted, it would stifle American companies’ abilities to manage their global operations and mitigate risk.

“In particular, we are strongly opposed to any mandate that would require all U.S. public companies to grant access to their proxy materials. Rather than improving stakeholder engagement, the proposed legislation would deprive shareholders of the freedom to choose whether – and under what circumstances – proxy access makes sense for their company. Worst of all, such a move could exacerbate the market’s short-term focus, which is widely considered to be a contributing factor to the recent financial crisis.

“Our member CEOs are committed to the modernization of our nation’s regulatory system, but we strongly urge Congress not to intervene in state corporate law with this preemptive federal mandate,” said John J. Castellani, President of Business Roundtable.