Financial Regulatory Reform: A New Foundation
June 29, 2010
USA Today Editorial: Our View on Banking Overhaul: Financial reform measure makes the system safer
In politics, nothing is easier than maintaining the status quo. That's because any special-interest group at risk of losing benefits can mobilize its membership and lobbying clout, while those who benefit from change — often the public — tend not to be organized.
June 26, 2010
New York Times: Consumers given more protections
After months of haggling, the terms of the financial overhaul are set, so long as both houses of Congress vote to accept them in the coming days.
June 26, 2010
Wall Street Journal: Consumers Get a Watchdog Agency
The landmark financial-markets legislation expected to be signed into law next week was intended mainly to reduce systemic risk and increase regulation at the corporate level, but it will also alter many aspects of financial life for consumers and individual investors.
June 26, 2010
Bloomberg: Overhaul of Financial Regulation on Path to Obama’s Desk
The U.S. Congress is on pace to deliver a sweeping re-write of Wall Street’s rules to President Barack Obama by July 4, meeting the deadline lawmakers set for themselves.
June 26, 2010
Financial Times: Way clear for radical overhaul of Wall Street
The US Congress finalised a sweeping overhaul of financial regulation yesterday that would impose a $19bn (£12.6bn) levy on Wall Street and force banks such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to retreat from lucrative businesses.
June 25, 2010
New York Times: It’s ‘America the Swift’ in Bank Reform
LAST week in Washington, the House and Senate reached agreement on a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s architecture of financial regulation.
June 25, 2010
ABC: Obama 'Gratified' By Wall Street Reform Deal
President Obama today said he was "gratified" by the progress lawmakers made on financial reform, striking a compromise deal early this morning to reform Wall Street.
June 25, 2010
USA Today: Obama: 'Toughest financial reforms since the Great Depression'
President Obama praised lawmakers today for developing a new set of financial regulations he hopes to sign into law by July 4.
June 25, 2010
The Hill: Obama hails deal on Wall Street bill
President Barack Obama hailed the Wall Street reform conference agreement Friday as shielding consumers from future financial crises.
June 25, 2010
Market Watch: Geithner calls bank sector reform "strong"
Following the conclusion of the House-Senate Conference on the financial reform bill, U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner called the legislation "strong."
June 25, 2010
Wall Street Journal: U.S. Lawmakers Reach Accord on New Finance Rules
After more than 20 hours of continuous wrangling, congressional Democrats and White House officials reached agreement on the final shape of legislation that would transform financial regulation, avoiding last-minute defections among New York lawmakers that had threatened to upend the bill.
June 25, 2010
Associated Press: House, Senate lawmakers finalize deal on bank bill
President Barack Obama declared victory Friday after congressional negotiators reached a dawn agreement on a sweeping overhaul of rules overseeing Wall Street.
June 25, 2010
BBC News: Major US financial reform agreed
The US Congress has all but finalised the biggest reform of US financial regulation since the Great Depression.
Jun 25, 2010
The Economist: A successful all-nighter
“MY OWN fear is that we’ve all died and this is our purgatory,” said Senator Chris Dodd recently, as negotiations between America’s House and Senate on reconciling their competing financial-reform bills—televised so that the public could share the pain—became bogged down yet again.
June 24, 2010
Market News International: US's Pelosi: Strong Support for Volcker Rule, Working On Derivs
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that there is "general support" among House Democrats for including a strong version of the Volcker rule in the final financial regulatory reform bill.
May 23, 2010
Financial Times: The Senate finance bill merits two cheers
Two cheers for Senator Christopher Dodd and Senate Democrats who, along with four Republicans, have passed the most sweeping reform of financial markets in 80 years – 1,500 pages of financial and regulatory detail guaranteed to make your eyes glaze over.
June 16, 2010
Wall Street Journal: Bernanke Pleased With Financial Bill's Progress
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Wednesday praised Congress for making progress in drawing up financial-regulatory overhaul legislation as lawmakers debated controversial proposals that will shape the fate of the Fed itself.
June 16, 2010
Dow Jones: Bernanke: Congress Has Made Strong Progress In Financial Reform
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Wednesday said Congress has made strong progress in drawing up a financial regulatory overhaul aimed at helping prevent another financial crisis.
June 16, 2010
Bloomberg: Bernanke Sees Progress by Congress on Regulation
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said Congress has taken steps toward creating stricter financial regulation while the Fed has sought on its own to improve oversight, including through tougher capital standards.
April 18, 2010
Reuters: Geithner confident Senate close to financial overhaul
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Sunday he was confident there was enough political unity on Capitol Hill for the Senate to forge a strong financial regulatory bill despite differences over some parts of it.
April 18, 2010
Wall Street Journal: Obama Pushes New Finance Rules
President Barack on Saturday promised that taxpayers won't have to foot the bill to bail out big financial institutions if lawmakers pass his proposed regulatory overhaul.
April 18, 2010
The Hill: Geithner confident Republicans will come around on financial reform
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Sunday said he is "very confident Republicans will vote for" Senate Democrats' financial regulatory reform bill.
April 18, 2010
Bloomberg: Geithner Sees Financial Overhaul Passing With Republican Votes
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said he is “very confident” the Obama administration will get enough Republican support in Congress for an overhaul of financial-industry regulations.
April 16, 2010
New York Times: The Fire Next Time
By Paul Krugman
On Tuesday, Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, called for the abolition of municipal fire departments.
April 14, 2010
Baseline Scenario: Senator McConnell Is Completely Wrong on Financial Reform
By Simon Johnson
At one level, it is good to see the Republican Senate leadership finally express clear positions on the financial industry and what we need in order to make it safer. At another level, what they are proposing is downright scary.
April 13, 2010
RTT News: Geithner Very Confident On Financial Reform, Senate GOP Signals Opposition
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Tuesday that he is very confident that efforts to reform the financial regulation system in the United States would pass.
April 13, 2010
Reuters: Geithner: A defining moment for reform
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the country is at a defining moment for financial reform and urged lawmakers to approve changes to toughen bank rules to help avoid another economic crisis.
April 12, 2010
Reuters: White House will not back down from financial reforms
The Obama administration vowed on Monday to push for even tougher financial regulation reform, as legislation heads for the Senate floor as soon as next week.
April 12, 2010
Reuters: Wolin defends fight for financial overhaul
The Obama administration will resist any efforts to weaken a "comprehensive and strong" change to the way the financial system is regulated that lawmakers are now debating, Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin said on Monday. "We will fight hard against any effort to weaken that legislation, and we will work to strengthen it further where we can," Wolin said in a speech to the Council of Institutional Investors
April 12, 2010
Market News: US Tsy's Wolin: Expect Dodd Bill To Go To Senate Floor 'Soon'
U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin Monday said the administration expects the Senate to consider the financial regulatory reform bill soon, and restated the government's determination to fight against any efforts to thwart financial system oversight.
April 12, 2010
Chicago Tribune: Financial overhaul looms as next battle
This year's next big legislative battle, a proposed overhaul of the nation's financial regulatory system, will involve a different and probably gentler style of politics from the one the Capitol has seen recently, experts say.
April 12, 2010
Politico: Build strong rules for finance system
The betting is that Congress will pass a financial regulatory reform bill. It’s hard to claim — as some in the financial industry do — that, almost two years after the system’s near collapse, Congress is moving with undue haste. One might hope that out of this slow, deliberative process would emerge a finely tuned bill, weighing the benefits of regulation with potential costs.
April 11, 2010
Politico: Democrats eager to take on Wall Street
Liberal Democrats see an opportunity to reassert their power in the Senate this spring on the Wall Street reform bill, after being forced to swallow a series of compromises on everything from health care reform to jobs legislation.
April 8, 2010
Reuters: Momentum building for financial reform - White House
Political momentum to toughen U.S. bank rules is building, the White House said on Wednesday, as President Barack Obama shifts his focus to financial regulation after victory on healthcare reform. "I think everyone gets the urgency of this, two years on. I think they get it on the Hill. I think they get it in the business community," Neal Wolin, deputy secretary of the U.S. Treasury, told a White House briefing with other officials.
April 7, 2010
The Hill: Administration will fight efforts to water down Dodd bill
Senior Obama administration officials said Wednesday that President Barack Obama will vigorously fight efforts to weaken the current Senate bill reforming the financial regulatory system. Officials specifically pointed to Republican proposed carve-outs for auto dealers and efforts to keep derivatives trading in the dark as "paradigmatic" examples of attempts to weaken the legislation that Obama would oppose.
April 7, 2010
Washington post: Financial reform is in the GOP's interest, too
WITH HEALTH CARE behind it, Congress seems likely to turn next to financial regulatory reform. As a matter of policy, this project is both necessary and complex. As a matter of politics, it would be difficult under the best of circumstances to achieve a bipartisan solution before memories of the financial crisis begin to fade -- much less by Memorial Day, as the White House wishes. Unfortunately, these are not the best of political circumstances.
April 2, 2010
Reuters: Geithner sees Republican support on financial reform bill
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Friday he believed the Senate was "very close" to a financial reform bill that protects consumers and limits financial company risk taking that will win Republican supporters. "We're very close on the substance," Geithner told Bloomberg Television in a live interview.
March 30, 2010
Businessweek: Volcker “Optimistic” on Passage of Regulatory Overhaul Bill
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker said he is “quite optimistic” Congress will pass a financial regulatory overhaul this year along the lines of the package proposed by President Barack Obama.“I feel more optimistic now than I would have a month or two ago,” Volcker, an economic adviser to Obama, said today in a speech at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.
March 29, 2010
ThinkProgress: Pentagon Pushes For A Strong Consumer Agency To Protect Troops From Abusive Financial Practices
The Obama administration and many congressional Democrats are pushing to create a strong Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) that will be able to “effectively enforce rules designed to protect consumers of mortgages, credit cards and other financial products.” Such legislation has already passed the House.
March 26, 2010
WSJ: Dodd: Financial Bill on Senate Floor in April
Passage of the health overhaul seems to have given Democrats’ financial overhaul effort a shot in the arm. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd said today that the wide-ranging financial overhaul bill is likely to come to the Senate floor next month. “It is my hope that shortly after our return on the second week of April that we will come to the floor of the U.S. Senate to debate, hopefully a full-throated debate, about how we reform the financial services sector of our nation,” Dodd said.
March 26, 2010
New York Times: Op-Ed: Derailing Help for Consumers
Why should there be any significant opposition to the creation of an independent agency with strong powers of enforcement to protect consumers from exploitation by banks, mortgage companies, auto dealers and other purveyors of credit? The dragons lurking in the fine print of some credit agreements are enough to give you heart failure. Payday loans, for example, typically carry annual interest rates in the vicinity of 400 percent.
March 25, 2010
The American Prospect: Treasury Capitalizes On Military Support For Consumer Protection
A few weeks ago, I noted that the Defense Department had offered its support for consumer financial protection; here is a copy of the letter [PDF] that DOD sent to Treasury. Today, Secretary Tim Geithner followed up by meeting with David Julian, the director of the DoD's Office of Personal Finance, and a number of other advocates for military families and consumers.
March 25, 2010
NASDAQ: Treasury's Geithner: Military Needs Swift Passage Of Financial Bill
Swift passage of legislation that aims to retool the financial system is needed to crack down on abusive lending practices that harm military families, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Thursday. Geithner met with roughly 15 officials from various groups and agencies, including the Defense Department's Personal Finance Office Director David Julian, to discuss how abusive lending practices are threatening the U.S. military and families.
March 25, 2010
AP: Geithner Hopes For Republican Support For Overhaul
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Thursday the Obama administration hopes to attract Republican support for a financial overhaul measure pending in the Senate. . . Geithner spoke at the end of a meeting with officials from the Defense Department and military advocacy groups to discuss the need to pass financial overhaul with strong consumer protections.
March 23, 2010
Wall Street Journal: Financial Overhaul Advances
Democrats advanced legislation to rewrite financial rules without Republican support as part of a broader strategy by the Obama administration to pressure the GOP to vote on the regulatory overhaul. The 13-10 vote in the Senate Banking Committee comes as Republicans and business groups rethink their strategy about how to shape or derail the financial bill, which some of them argue would reduce credit and potentially cost U.S. jobs.
March 22, 2010
AP: Geithner says bank overhaul must protect consumers
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Monday the administration will not accept a financial overhaul bill that does not provide strong consumer protection and restraints on risk-taking by large banks. Geithner urged lawmakers to listen to the families and businesses that were harmed by the financial crisis and not the financial institutions that brought on the crisis, the most severe to hit the country since the 1930s.
March 22, 2010
ABC News: Treasury Secretary Geithner Makes The Case For Financial Reform: "This Is A Just War"
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner today made his strongest argument yet for why Congress must enact the most sweeping overhaul of Wall Street regulations seen in generations. “We are still living with the same financial system that brought us to the edge of collapse, and the success of the crisis response, without financial reform, will make future crises more likely,” Geithner told the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think-tank in Washington.
March 22, 2010
Atlantic: Dodd's Financial Reform Bill Clears Senate Banking Committee
The Senate Banking Committee began the mark-up process of Chairman Dodd's financial reform bill at 5:00pm Monday evening. The 1,336-page bill's mark-up ended at 5:22pm passing through committee, with a vote of 13 to 10. All Democrats on the committee voted in favor, all Republicans against.
March 20, 2010
Wall Street Journal: Obama: Dodd's Financial Overhaul 'Essential'
President Barack Obama used his weekly radio address to call for an overhaul of U.S. financial regulation, saying reform is needed to rein in bad practices and better protect consumers. Mr. Obama's remarks come as the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote Sunday on a controversial health-care initiative that is one of the administration's top priorities.
March 20, 2010
Reuters: Obama urges senators to support financial reform
President Barack Obama urged senators on Saturday to resist pressure to weaken a financial reform bill and called again for an independent consumer watchdog to help prevent future financial crises.
March 4, 2010
The Hill: Consumer protection would help small businesses
Over the past year, financial institutions have put extraordinary pressure on small businesses. They have slashed lines of credit, increased interest rates even for customers that always pay on time, and mailed out more and more reams of incomprehensible fine print that even good lawyers can’t understand.
February 25, 2010
Detroit Free Press: Crackdown sought in auto dealer rip-offs of troops
U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner today embraced calls for tougher consumer protection rules on auto dealers, following complaints from the armed services of dealers ripping off troops and their families. The move puts the Obama administration against auto dealers, who have fought to be exempt from a proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency, saying current law was sufficient to deal with any abuses by individual dealers.
February 15, 2010
Denver Post: Michael Bennet: Good news on credit card interest rates
Over the last several weeks, families across Colorado received notices in the mail from their credit card companies notifying them of upcoming changes in their accounts.
January 21, 2010
AP: Obama seeks bigger banking restrictions
President Barack Obama, eager to harness and redirect voter anger over bank bailouts, is ramping up his war on Wall Street Thursday by pushing tougher regulation of big banks.
January 19, 2010
Wall Street Journal: Obama, Dodd to Meet On Financial Regulatory Overhaul Bill
President Barack Obama and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd plan to meet at the White House today to discuss the status of congressional efforts to overhaul financial regulation.
December 23, 2009
Politico: Bipartisan finance reform takes shape
The Democrat-Republican duo leading Senate work on financial reform say they’ve “made meaningful progress” and hope to hammer out remaining differences over the holiday recess, with the goal of a markup in January.
December 18, 2009
San Jose Mercury News Editorial: Editorial: Congress should impose tough rules on bankers
In a year filled with outrageous political stunts, the financial industry's $300 million lobbying campaign to block an overhaul of the financial regulatory system may top them all. As National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers so aptly put it last week, the strategy is "frankly a bit rich."
December 17, 2009
The Hill: Dodd, Shelby signal progress in financial regulatory reform talks
The Democrat chiefly heading the Senate's financial regulatory reform effort said Thursday negotiations over the legislation's toughest provisions were "going great."
December 15, 2009
San Francisco Chronicle Editorial: A new era of oversight for the financial system
The U.S. House of Representatives has just given its approval to the most ambitious overhaul of financial regulations since the New Deal. Or, as one consumer advocate in Washington triumphantly put it, "the era of mindless deregulation is over."
December 14, 2009
AP: Obama pushing banking execs on protection agency
President Barack Obama is asking bank executives to support his efforts to tighten the financial industry, while bankers are prepared to tell the president he should stop oversimplifying their concerns if he wants good-faith collaboration.
December 13, 2009
Op-ed: Brookings Institute: The Financial Crisis And Better Consumer Protection
By Martin Neil Baily & Eugene A. Ludwig, The Brookings Institute
As the House begins its Floor debate this week on financial regulatory reform, it is clear that the time is ripe for action.
December 12, 2009
Boston: House OK’s financial overhaul bill
A sharply divided House yesterday passed the most dramatic overhaul of US financial regulations since the Great Depression, voting to establish a new borrower protection agency and give the government sweeping new powers to crack down on the types of Wall Street practices that caused last year’s economic meltdown.
December 11, 2009
Washington Post: House steps closer to passing financial regulation overhaul
House lawmakers on Thursday night inched closer to approving a sweeping overhaul of the nation's financial regulatory system, adopting last-minute changes that scaled back parts of the legislation while extending its reach to help struggling homeowners.
December 11, 2009
The Bond Buyer: House Poised to OK Financial Regulatory Reform Bill
The House is poised to approve a massive financial regulatory reform bill today, after considering a series of amendments late into last night.
December 11, 2009
Financial Times: House set to back financial reform bill
The House of Representatives voted to prevent banks from controlling clearing houses on Thursday night as Congress moved closer to approving sweeping financial regulatory reform.
December 10, 2009
Reuters: House debates historic financial rules overhaul
The House of Representatives began debating the most sweeping changes to financial regulation proposed since the Great Depression on Thursday, with lawmakers wrangling over late amendments.
December 9, 2009
Dow Jones: 2nd UPDATE:US House Nears Debate On Financial-Regulatory Revamp
U.S. House lawmakers on Tuesday began setting the rules for a vote this week on a broad overhaul of regulation for U.S. financial markets, even as a top Senate Republican cast doubt on the Senate taking action this year.
December 8, 2009
Star Tribune: Rep. Peterson is in thick of derivatives struggle
More than a year after a historic financial collapse nearly derailed the U.S. economy, Minnesota Democrat Collin Peterson has emerged as an unlikely player on Capitol Hill in crafting legislation to bring Wall Street to heel.
December 7, 2009
NYT Blog: House Looks at Preventing the Next Collapse
The Senate enters a crucial week for its health care legislation while the House plans to take up what its authors describe as a comprehensive response to last year’s financial meltdown.
December 7, 2009
The Hill: House likely to move on regulatory reform by end of the week
President Barack Obama this week will likely see Congress take a major step forward in accomplishing a sweeping financial regulatory overhaul.
December 7, 2009
Reuters: Senator Dodd to press financial reform ahead: aides
Senator Christopher Dodd chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, is ready to push through a controversial financial regulation reform bill with or without Republican support, senior aides said, just days before the House of Representatives votes on its own reform legislation.
December 2, 2009
The Hill: Why consumers need a financial protection agency
Like a lot of young Americans, Bryan Howard took out a credit card and opened a money market account when he went off to college. His family blessed the idea; they thought it would help establish his financial independence.
December 1, 2009
Chicago Daily Herald: U.S. Rep. Bean pushes financial reforms
U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean today touted a package of financial reform bills expected to pass out of House committee this week and designed to make the consumer credit system more secure.
November 24, 2009
Los Angeles Times: Proposal to allow breakup of huge banks gains momentum
Momentum is growing in the U.S. and abroad to deal with the problem of gigantic financial institutions deemed too big to fail by breaking them up before they can threaten the economy.
November 24, 2009
Salem News: An Oregon Perspective: Taking Back our Economy
By Senator Jeff Merkley for Salem-News.com The reach of last year’s economic collapse has extended far beyond Wall Street. Because of the bad bets made by the big banks, thousands of Oregonians have lost their homes and hundreds of thousands more have lost their jobs.
November 20, 2009
UPI: Geithner presses committee for reforms
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pressed lawmakers in Washington Thursday to stay the course on regulatory reform for the financial system.
November 19, 2009
WP: Ambitious bills could remake financial regulatory landscape
As lawmakers on Capitol Hill inch closer toward overhauling the nation's fractured financial regulatory system, each hour of debate, each tweak of legal language, each tedious roll call carries the potential to generate colossal changes in the relationship between Washington and Wall Street.
November 19, 2009
Politico: Dems back power to break up firms
Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee have approved a proposal that aims to expand federal powers to preemptively break up so-called “too big to fail” firms.
November 19, 2009
LAT: House panel OKs granting of bank breakup power
A House committee voted Wednesday to give the government extraordinary new power to break up large financial firms that pose a potential risk to the economy.
November 19, 2009
Dow Jones: Panel Approves Curbs on 'Too Big' Firms
A key House panel voted Wednesday to give government the power to break up large financial firms whose collapse might threaten the broader economy, despite aggressive lobbying by major financial institutions to kill the measure.
November 19, 2009
Reuters: Financial reforms grind forward in Congress
The U.S. Congress edged closer on Wednesday to creating new government powers to break up giant financial firms, which Europe is already doing, while a U.S. derivatives market crackdown got more complicated.
November 16, 2009
CNN Money: Protecting grandpa from investing peril
Congress wants to help protect seniors who buy complex investment products that they don't understand or may do more harm than good.
November 16, 2009
News and Observer: Simplify those credit card sites
Each decade has its own developments, defining issues and challenges. The 1970s and the '80s were characterized by the introduction of a various new financial securities and products. The Information Technology revolution of the 1990s enabled a relentless pursuit of efficiency through faster transactions and cost reductions. Today's dominant issue is the designing of an appropriate regulatory architecture for our vast, hard-to-control markets.
November 10, 2009
Reuters: Dodd set to unveil financial reform bill
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd will unveil long-awaited draft legislation on financial regulation reform on Tuesday, his office said on Monday.
November 9, 2009
TIME: Financial Regulation: Way Easier Than Health Care
What reform could dramatically remake America and become law by Christmas? Not health care. While a health care bill crawls through the Senate, bills of equal significance are speeding through the Banking and Finance Committees of both chambers of Congress and will share the spotlight this week on Capitol Hill. And because of the odd politics of finance, and an aggressive behind the scenes push by the Administration, real financial reforms have a better chance of becoming law by the end of the year than an overhaul of health care.
November 5, 2009
The Hill: Dodd to unveil financial overhaul legislation
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) will unveil wide-ranging financial overhaul legislation as early as next week.
November 4, 2009
Reuters: Obama admin praises early Senate financial bill
The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee is poised to release a draft bill on financial regulatory reform that meets many of President Barack Obama's core goals, but it is unclear if it will gain any Republican support, an administration official said on Tuesday.
November 4, 2009
Reuters: U.S. lawmakers focus on size of big financial firms
Two key U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday endorsed the idea of the government restricting not just the risks taken by big financial firms, but also their sheer size, echoing proposals being heard in Europe.
November 20, 2009
Nasdaq: Geithner outlines principles that will guide regulatory reform
In an address to the Joint Economic Committee, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pushed Capitol Hill to quickly
develop a new framework for financial industry regulation.
November 20, 2009
The Hill (Blog): The Senate Finance Reform Effort
Neglect and inaction - that's the only apt description of federal bank regulators' track record over the last decade.
Consumer safeguards in the financial services arena are in theory overseen mainly by three agencies, the Office of
Thrift Supervision, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve Board. In practice the
three have stood virtually idle as abusive, reckless practices infected nearly every facet of financial services,
ultimately costing taxpayers trillions of dollars in lost wealth.
November 19, 2009
MarketWatch: Geithner tries to boost financial reform efforts
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner tried to breathe new urgency into efforts to overhaul federal oversight of the
financial sector by telling Congress that the reform effort was essential for the health of the economy.
November 19, 2009
DJ: Geithner: Must Bring Financial Regulation Into 21st Century
Congress must move quickly to create a "safer, more stable financial system," Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
said Thursday, as lawmakers on both sides of Capitol Hill pressed forward with legislative efforts.
November 19, 2009
UPI: Geithner presses committee for reforms
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pressed lawmakers in Washington Thursday to stay the course on regulatory
reform for the financial system. Geithner said the goal was to "ensure that Americans are never again forced to
suffer the consequences of a preventable economic collapse."
November 6, 2009
The Main Wire: US Tsy's Barr: No Sense In 'Piecemeal' Reg Reform
U.S. Treasury Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Michael Barr Thursday argued against incremental action
on financial regulatory reform, voicing his support for a comprehensive, all-encompassing package.
November 5, 2009
Dow Jones: Treasury Official Says 'Too Big Too Fail' Notion Will End
A top U.S. Treasury official said Thursday that the notion of being "too big too fail" will come to an end.
"The idea that investment banks like Bear and Lehman or other large firms like AIG could escape meaningful consolidated federal supervision should be unthinkable from now on," Treasury's Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Michael Barr said.
November 4, 2009
AP: Iowa AG: States must help protect consumers
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller says the states should continue to have a role in protecting consumers from
fraudulent practices.
Miller is leading a group of 40 state attorneys general in urging Congress to uphold the role of the states in enforcing
consumer protection laws.
November 4, 2009
Bloomberg: U.S. Rules Revamp Gains as Frank Sets Vote, Senate Bill Readied
The Obama administration’s push for overhauling financial regulation gained ground as Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said the U.S. House will vote on legislation by December and a long-awaited Senate measure was readied.
November 3, 2009
Reuters: Obama admin praises early Senate financial bill
The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee is poised to release a draft bill on financial regulatory reform that meets many of President Barack Obama's core goals, but it is unclear if it will gain any Republican support, an administration official said on Tuesday.
October 28, 2009
AFP: US financial sector will pay for failures: bill
Financial companies with more than 10 billion dollars in assets will have to pay for rivals' failures or rescues, under draft legislation which has been released by the US Treasury and lawmakers.
October 28, 2009
Reuters: Congressional Panel Backs New Rules For Hedge Funds
U.S. regulators would be able to peer into the secretive world of hedge funds and private equity funds under a bill passed by a key congressional committee on Tuesday.
October 28, 2009
Reuters: Obama Financial Reforms Advance In Congress
The Obama administration made gains on Tuesday in its push for U.S. financial reform, unveiling a landmark bill to tackle systemic risk in the economy and winning congressional committee approval for a measure to expose hedge funds to more government scrutiny.
October 28, 2009
TheDeal.com: Geithner on "too big to fail" and the stress testsSpeaking at the SIFMA annual meeting on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner shared his thoughts on the need to give regulators the tools to manage a wind down of a large, systemically important, financial institution so there is never a repeat of the week that Lehman Brothers failed.
October 27, 2009
WSJ: Finance Talks Hit Thorny Issues
House lawmakers this week are set to tackle some of the thorniest issues in the effort to overhaul financial rules, including how to take over large companies whose failure could threaten the economy and what role the Federal Reserve should have in policing markets' health.
October 27, 2009
Reuters: Financial regulation fight is a "just war": Geithner
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Tuesday told a packed room of Wall Street dealers and bankers they could not look America in the eye and argue that financial regulation is fine as it is.
October 22, 2009
WSJ: Key House Committee Votes to Create Consumer Agency
A key House panel voted Thursday to create a new federal agency to police financial products offered to U.S. consumers, advancing a key part of the White House's proposed overhaul of financial rules.
October 22, 2009
WP: House panel approves consumer protection agency
A key congressional panel voted Thursday to create a federal agency aimed at protecting Americans from the predatory lending practices and other abuses that hastened the financial crisis.
October 22, 2009
Politico: Consumer agency vote a win for WH
The House Financial Services Committee handed President Barack Obama a major win on financial reform, approving Thursday legislation to create a consumer financial protection agency, the centerpiece the administration’s overhaul.
October 22, 2009
NYT: Panel Votes for New Agency on Financial Oversight
The House Financial Services Committee voted on Thursday to create an agency to protect consumers from predatory lending, deceptive credit card terms and other abuses.
October 22, 2009
Reuters: Obama welcomes panel vote on financial watchdog
U.S. President Barack Obama welcomed a vote by a key U.S. congressional committee on Thursday to establish a Consumer Financial Protection Agency.
October 22, 2009
The Hill: House committee gives nod to creating consumer financial protection agency
The House Financial Services Committee on Thursday took a major step forward by passing legislation that creates a new consumer financial protection agency.
October 19, 2009
Politico: Give power to consumers
The new consumer agency proposed in financial regulatory reform could be a big win for an American middle class
pummeled by the financial crisis
October 18, 2009
Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Rep. Keith Ellison: A financial safety net for the rest of us
As the financial tsunami of 2008-09 hit titans like Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns, millions of middle-class Americans were dragged out in the tide with no bailout. For these folks, the American dream of home ownership, and borrowing generally, washed up on the shores of a financial disaster -- the most serious since the Great Depression.
October 16, 2009
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Loan horror leads to White House visit
Politicians often talk about getting "a seat at the table," one way of saying who's in on the discussion, maybe exerting some influence. Patricia Nelson, as down-to-earth as a soft-spoken, 63-year-old Waukesha great grandmother could be, really did get a seat at the table. The president's table, no less.
October 15, 2009
Raleigh News and Observer: Cooper supports a new agency Attorney
General Roy Cooper urged Congress on Wednesday to pass the bill that would create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency to oversee banks and financial institutions.
October 15, 2009
Kane County Chronicle: Local Reps. working on financial regulations
Although much of the public attention since the summer has focused on the health care debate in Congress, that doesn’t mean the private work on other issues stopped.
October 15, 2009
Boston Globe Editorial: To fix financial system, protect consumers first
THE NEW Consumer Financial Protection Agency proposed by the Obama administration is needed to correct obvious flaws in the financial system and to prevent a repeat of last year’s economic collapse.
October 15, 2009
WP: House Panel to Vote On Derivatives Bill
A House committee is set to vote Thursday on a bill that would regulate for the first time the vast and opaque market of exotic financial instruments known as derivatives, marking the first major advance in Congress of a key piece of legislation to remake the nation's financial regulatory system.
October 15, 2009
KGUN-ABC Phoenix: Goddard endorses US consumer financial protection agency There's a push in our nation's capital to create a financial consumer protection agency. It would make credit card and mortgage information more understandable --and hold brokers and investment professionals to higher standards.
October 14, 2009
Bloomberg: House Panel Moves Derivatives Toward Obama’s Proposal
The House Financial Services Committee revamped legislation that would rein in the $592 trillion over-the-counter derivatives market, winning praise from the Obama administration.
October 14, 2009
ABC Chicago, IL: IL AG urges consumer protection agency
Illinois' attorney general is urging Congress to create an independent federal consumer financial protection agency. Madigan and consumer advocates talked about it Wednesday at the Thompson Center. She says idea is to protect consumers from excesses that spurred the current economic crisis.
October 14, 2009
MarketWatch: Key committee nears vote on bank regulation reform
Taking a major step toward financial regulatory reform, the key House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday kicked off its final debate on legislation to reform complex financial instruments known as derivatives, with a vote expected later in the day.
October 12, 2009
Denver Post: Hopes run high for consumer protections in Congress
A proposed federal agency to protect consumers from the financial practices that contributed to today's economic crisis should be approved by year's end and ready for business by mid-2011, federal officials say.
October 12, 2009
AFP: White House defends Obama's economic policies
The White House on Monday defended President Barack Obama's economic policies, saying that because of them, the country had stepped back from an economic abyss.
October 9, 2009
AP: Obama: Create consumer protection agency
President Barack Obama is urging Congress to create a new consumer agency to protect Americans against financial abuses.
October 9, 2009
CNN Monday: Obama pushes consumer protection agency
President Obama on Friday made his strongest push yet for the creation of a new consumer protection agency, lashing out against those who have lobbied hard to stand in its way.
October 9, 2009
NYDN: Obama Takes Aim At Wall
Street
President Obama today took aim at the culture of greed, after hearing horror stories from typical Americans who were victims of predatory lenders and the related Wall Street chicanery that slid the U.S. in its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
October 9, 2009
The Hill: Obama takes on banks,
U.S. Chamber in push for financial
reform
President Obama singled out the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Friday as a special interest lining up to kill his efforts at protecting American consumers from unscrupulous financial services.
October 9, 2009
Reuters: Obama pushes consumer
financial protection agency
U.S. President Barack Obama promoted his plans for a new consumer financial protection agency on Friday by saying it would prevent banks from using "ridiculously confusing contracts."
October 4, 2009
Reuters: Don't
Resist Reform, G7 Policymakers
Tell Banks
Global finance chiefs told commercial banks at the weekend that resisting tighter regulation of the industry was futile, though bankers warned the reforms could hurt economic recovery.
October 3, 2009
Dow
Jones: Global Cooperation Limited
Depth Of Downturn
U.S. Treasury Secretary
Timothy Geithner on Saturday continued
to push for regulatory reform of
global financial systems while promoting
a shift toward more balanced global
growth and reaffirming a commitment
not to withdraw U.S. economic stimulus
measures too quickly.
October 1, 2009
Reuters: US
Treasury says regulation key to
averting crises
The United States should focus on reforming financial regulation in order to be armed against future crises, rather than making unrealistic promises to never bail out another financial firm, a top U.S. Treasury official said Thursday.
September 30, 2009
Bloomberg
News: Bernanke Urges ‘Strong’ Consumer
Financial Protection
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will tell lawmakers that protecting consumers of financial services is “vitally important,” while omitting prior criticism of an Obama administration proposal to shift such powers from the Fed to a new agency.
September 30, 2009
Bloomberg
News: Bernanke Urges ‘Strong’ Consumer
Financial Protection
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben
S. Bernanke will tell
lawmakers that protecting consumers
of financial services is “vitally
important,” while omitting
prior criticism of an Obama administration
proposal to shift such powers from
the Fed to a new agency.
September 30, 2009
Dow
Jones: US Officials See Challenges,
Promise For Global Financial Regulation
Top U.S. officials from the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department stressed the need Wednesday for global cooperation on improving regulation for financial markets, but acknowledged some problems laid bare by the financial crisis still need to be addressed.
September 30, 2009
Politico:
Geithner: Proposal is a 'revolution'
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
on Tuesday highlighted one area of
the Obama administration’s keynote
proposals in the regulatory reform
debate, arguing that the planned overhaul
of the derivatives market is the kind
of sweeping change that will help prevent
another market meltdown.
September 30, 2009
Roll
Call: Prospects Look Bright for Financial
Reform
After weathering the worst financial
crisis since the Great Depression, getting
a financial regulatory overhaul done
should be as close to a slam dunk for
Democrats as anything else on their agenda
this year " and they sure could
use a victory.
September 30, 2009
American
Banker: Geithner: Reform Making "Progress"
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner continued
to push for his regulatory restructuring
plan in a briefing with reporters on Tuesday,
arguing that the administration is making
progress and signaling a willingness to compromise.
September 29, 2009
National
Journal: Treasury Pushes For Resolution
Authority
Against a congressional backdrop of bailout
fatigue, the Obama administration is
ramping up its outreach to pass legislation
to revamp the nation's financial regulatory
system, especially over the issue of
unwinding financial firms whose collapse
would threaten the broader economy.
September 29, 2009
The
Hill: Geithner says the Federal government
needs more power to prevent bailouts
The Obama administration is taking steps
to defend its financial reform plan against
critics who are arguing that it enshrines
a long-term role for Washington to bail
out Wall Street.
September 26, 2009
Charlotte
News & Observer: Pressure point
First came the reports that some of America's big banks, rescued by taxpayers, were returning to the same old risky investment packages that helped them take the dive that nearly plunged the country into another Great Depression. Now, the financial industry has fought tooth-and-nail, apparently with some success, to dilute some of President Obama's efforts at more responsibly regulating that industry.
September 24, 2009
Politico:
More Dems now support watchdog
It’s taken longer than he planned, but House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank appears to be closing in on the support he needs to create a new federal agency to oversee mortgages, credit cards and other consumer products of the financial services industry.
September 22, 2009
Dow
Jones: Dodd, Frank Cite Progress
On Reg Overhaul After Geithner Mtg
The top House and Senate Democrats ushering regulatory changes for the financial system through Congress presented a more united front following a meeting Tuesday, citing broad areas of agreement and downplaying differences on the ambitious legislation.
September 18, 2009
NPR:
Geithner Still Pushing For Major Financial
Reforms
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says
the U.S. economy might be showing the "first
signs of recovery," but comprehensive
reform to the financial regulatory system
should remain an urgent priority. Legislation
to provide more systematic regulation
of financial institutions, including
new limits on executive compensation,
has stalled in Congress, but Geithner
told NPR's Robert Siegel in an exclusive
interview that he is optimistic that
major reforms will be passed
September 16, 2009
Bloomberg:
Treasury Appeals to Main Street for Wall
Street Rules Overhaul
Treasury Department officials are meeting
with consumer allies to build support
for a regulations overhaul for Wall Street
as President Barack Obama ramps up a
campaign to win legislation by year’s
end.
September 15, 2009
CBS
Evening News: Geithner's Financial Vision
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's department has put out a report detailing the next phase for stabilizing and regulating the financial system. In an exclusive interview, Geithner told CBS Evening News Anchor Katie Couric that the economy is in much better shape today than it was when the meltdown began last September.
September 15, 2009
ABC:
'GMA' Exclusive: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
A year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers,Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner spoke to "Good Morning America's" Diane Sawyer today about the state of the economy and why he is optimistic about the country's recovering from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
September 14, 2009
Remarks
by the President on Financial Rescue
and Reform
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. It
is wonderful to be back in New York after
having just been here last week. It
is a beautiful day and we have some extraordinary
guests here in the Hall today. I
just want to mention a few.
September 10, 2009
CNBC:
Banking on Geithner Town Hall
The dust has settled. America's financial system is moving past the crisis mode it's been in since the collapse of Lehman Brothers a year ago. But what exactly we're moving on to is not entirely clear, and the trillions that we're spending to save the banking industry and revive the economy is causing Americans to ask some very important questions: Where is our money going? Will the Government be a permanent partner in our capital markets? And is our financial system more stable today than it was a year ago?
September 8, 2009
McClatchy:
Commentary: Urgent need for financial
regulatory reform
By Neal Wolin
When Congress reconvenes this week, members
will turn their attention to the most
sweeping reform of financial regulation
since the New Deal. The administration
has proposed comprehensive legislation
to modernize our financial regulatory
system. The goal is simple: to lay the
foundation for a safer, more stable financial
system and to give responsible consumers
and investors the basic protections they
deserve.
September 8, 2009
McClatchy
Newspapers :Commentary: Urgent need for
financial regulatory reform
When Congress reconvenes this week, members
will turn their attention to the most
sweeping reform of financial regulation
since the New Deal. The administration
has proposed comprehensive legislation
to modernize our financial regulatory
system. The goal is simple: to lay the
foundation for a safer, more stable financial
system and to give responsible consumers
and investors the basic protections they
deserve.
September 7, 2009
Kansas
City Star:
If health care fails, move on to financial
reforms
In a recent Rasmussen Reports poll, 57
percent of respondents said they would
replace the entire Congress. Exploding
deficits, a pork-fed stimulus bill, car
company rescues, a barely competent “cash
for clunkers” program, and a too-complicated
cap and trade carbon tax. …I
could go on. And I will. There is, of
course, the battle royal over health
care reform. People on both sides are
mad at Congress. Some are even wondering
if the whole thing will stall this fall.
September 6, 2009
Detroit
Free Press Editorial: Protect against
bad credit practices
New agency would side with consumers
You may think you don't need protection
from the foolish choices made by people
who can't or won't understand the mortgage
papers they sign. But you do, because
bad mortgages have a broad impact. The
solution lies in a national Consumer
Financial Protection Agency much like
President Barack Obama has proposed.
September 3, 2009
Minneapolis Star
Tribune: Ellison calls for consumer finance
regulator
He wants a single agency that will look
out for people applying for credit or
taking out a loan. During the congressional
recess, Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn.,
is talking about something besides health
care reform. On Thursday, Ellison spoke
out on the need for a single regulatory
agency to protect consumers taking out
a mortgage, applying for a credit card,
or resorting to a payday loan.
September 2, 2009
Charlotte
Observer: Treasury: Consumer agency is
needed
Department's No. 2 officer visits N.C.
and advocates for a new entity to protect
against unfair practices.
The Treasury Department's No. 2 officer came to North Carolina on Tuesday to talk about regulatory reform, pushing for the creation of an agency focused on consumer rights. Neal Wolin said in a phone interview that a consumer-focused agency is necessary for protecting borrowers. Under the current system, multiple regulators oversee consumer protection, which results in “a complicated hodgepodge” that lets banks “pick and choose between whichever agency will be most lenient,” Wolin said.
September 2, 2009
Cincinnati Enquirer:
Key Treasury figure argues for reforms
As Congress this month mulls the next
piece in a mammoth proposal to overhaul
regulation of the financial sector, Assistant
Treasury Secretary Michael Barr met with
local consumer groups, industry officials
and the Enquirer to push President Barack
Obama's plan. Barr defended the White
House's proposal to establish a Consumer
Financial Protection Agency that would
take over oversight of consumer lending
products, such as mortgages and credit
cards. Industry groups have expressed
concerns the proposed agency would stamp
out innovation and limit lending products
for consumers.
August 26, 2009
Dow
Jones: Treasury's Stein Discusses Consumer
Agency, Draws Big Audience
A key U.S. Treasury official Wednesday shed more light on the Obama administration's financial-overhaul proposal, arguing that a new consumer-focused federal agency - the Consumer Financial Protection Agency ( CFPA) - is necessary to help prevent future crises.
August 26, 2009
Seattle Times
Editorial: Obama's financial regulatory
reform agenda is right to prioritize
consumers
Congress should carefully consider and
approve a bill creating a federal Consumer
Financial Protection Agency.
PRESIDENT Obama's regulatory-reform agenda includes a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. This is worth pursuing, though as with any law creating new federal power, it has to be done with care.
August 25, 2009
Seattle Times
Editorial: Devil's in the details on
reform of financial regulations
The Seattle Times supports the aim of
President Obama's proposals for regulatory
reform of the financial system, but urges
caution on such details as special treatment
for "Tier 1" financial companies.
PRESIDENT Obama's proposal of regulatory reform aims to reduce risks to the financial system as a whole. The aim is good. The actual bill has to be carefully vetted, because even the smallest detail can create unforeseen consequences.
July 22, 2009
The
Hill: Consumer protection agency would
stop companies’ race to the bottom
(Wolin Op-ed)
On June 17, President Obama unveiled a comprehensive plan to modernize our financial regulatory system and address the gaps and weaknesses that helped produce the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The debate over the president’s proposed reforms has grown lively, as it should. On the details of a reform package as large as the one we have presented, reasonable people can disagree. But there should be no disagreement that fundamental reform is urgently needed. Over the past two years, ordinary Americans have suffered too much, trust in our financial system has been too badly shaken, and our economy has been brought too close to the brink for us to let this opportunity pass.
June 14, 2009
Washington
Post: Geithner, Summers OP-ED: A New
Financial Foundation
By Timothy Geithner and Lawrence Summers
Over the past two years, we have faced the
most severe financial crisis since the Great
Depression. The financial system failed to
perform its function as a reducer and distributor
of risk. Instead, it magnified risks, precipitating
an economic contraction that has hurt families
and businesses around the world.
July 23, 2009
The
Hill: Wolin Op-Ed: Consumer Protection
Agency Would Stop Companies’ Race
To The Bottom
By Neal Wolin
On June 17, President Obama unveiled
a comprehensive plan to modernize our
financial regulatory system and address
the gaps and weaknesses that helped produce
the worst financial crisis since the
Great Depression.
