President wants new financial agency for consumers

[mvd]

If big business and the Repukes dislike it, I'm sure it's on the right track!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090616/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_financial_overhaul

[Eric J in MN]

1. "the Federal Reserve would supervise large financial institutions"...

..."that are considered so big that their failure could undermine America's economy, according to the administration proposal."

Here is a better idea: break up any corporation which is supposedly too-big-to-fail.

After banks have been shown that if they gamble and lose then the federal government will hand them trillions, a new federal regulator can't reign in risky behavior.

[mvd]

2. Yes, I'd like that, too

But do you think it's a good start? One area where I was hoping for improvement is bank regulation, so I was happy to see this.

[Eric J in MN]

4. In itself, I support federal regulation of banks from a consumer perspective.

However, the Obama Administration is trying to stop states from regulating national banks, and so the administration isn't necessarily helping consumers overall.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aCdEKIwbiPzQ&refer=home

The Obama administration contends that federal regulators can adequately ensure that national banks comply with both state and federal laws. The administration said last night that the OCC “vigorously enforces fair-lending laws against national banks.”

Civil rights groups dispute that. In a letter this month to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Attorney General Eric Holder, groups led by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights said the OCC had filed no enforcement actions based on state antidiscrimination laws since the OCC adopted the disputed regulation in 2004.

“It is painfully clear that federal regulators did little to fill the void,” the letter said.

The Supreme Court case stems from Spitzer’s probe into whether lenders charged higher mortgage interest rates to minorities. Spitzer began his investigation after 2004 data released under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act showed black and Hispanic customers in New York were more likely to receive high- priced loans.
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[mvd]

5. Maybe it's a case of this:

"Consumer advocates said Dugan’s control of the OCC may have constrained the new administration in its handling of the case, particularly given that Kagan was sworn in less than a week ago."

[NYC Democrat]

3. Hopefully congress can comply on at least this issue without to much of a long fight.

but I sadly doubt it this will most likely pass the house in a stronger form then it is now but then get watered down in the senate.