The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) can breathe a little easier after President Barak Obama’s re-election on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, according to legal scholars and attorneys.

Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney voiced his criticisms of the Dodd-Frank Act during the October 3, 2012, presidential debate, promising to repeal and replace Dodd-Frank. While the political climate in the United States Congress made repeal of Dodd-Frank unlikely, Romney’s administration may have eliminated or weakened provisions of the Act, appointed SEC and CFTC heads who were less interested in aggressive enforcement, and reduced both agencies’ funding.

Legal scholars and attorneys predict that President Obama’s re-election will allow the SEC and the CFTC to continue their aggressive enforcement campaigns of 2011. President Obama’s re-election is particularly important for the CFTC, which Dodd-Frank awarded new oversight powers. The Romney administration may have eliminated key provisions of the Act, returning the CFTC to the limited role it exercised under President George W. Bush. Under President Obama, the CFTC is likely to continue its expanded watchdog role and receive the funding necessary to do so.

The SEC and the CFTC are now likely to continue to pursue strong enforcement against financial firms and high-profile fraud. 2011 saw the SEC and the CFTC bring a record number of cases and win large penalties: over $2.8 billion and $585 million, respectively. That trend is predicted to continue in the second term of the Obama administration.