On July 15, 2010, final Congressional approval of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act occurred, when the Senate passed the bill by a vote of 60 to 39. President Obama is expected to sign the legislation next week. Embedded in the over 2,200-page Dodd-Frank Act are a number of provisions addressing executive compensation and corporate governance reforms. These provisions appear in Title IX of the Act, which may be cited separately as the Investor Protection and Securities Reform Act of 2010. Below is a brief summary of the executive compensation and corporate governance provisions in the Act that are applicable to all public companies. (Certain other provisions of the Act relate specifically to the governance of financial institutions.) A more detailed discussion, including observations regarding effects of the Act, can be found here.
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