Dodd-Frank 'too big to fail' designations (2010-2013)
The 2010 Dodd-Frank Act created the Financial Stability Oversight Council, which could label nonbank financial firms 'systemically important.' Starting in 2013, designated firms like AIG and GE Capital came under direct Federal Reserve supervision with new capital and stress-test requirements.
Newly supervised firms faced capital and liquidity demands they hadn't before.
Formal regulatory designation became the standard tool for pulling the largest financial players under direct oversight.
MiCA's 'significant' label works the same way: a formal designation places the largest stablecoin issuers under direct, enhanced EU supervision rather than relying on a national supervisor alone.
