Financial Regulatory Reform: A New Foundation
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 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 16, 2009
Oregon Statesman-Journal: Oregon coalition supports tighter financial regulation by feds Alan Youse of Salem joined the ranks of retirees two weeks ago, but he said he might have retired months earlier if the nation's financial markets had not collapsed a year ago.
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
Burlington Free Press Editorial: Move aggressively on financial reforms
Have they no shame? A year after taxpayers were forced to bail out the biggest financial firms from near collapse, those same companies are back with extravagant bonuses to reward employees.
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
WGN Chicago: Illinois Attorney General pushes for federal consumer protection Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says the federal government should be more doing to protect consumers.
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
NYT: Obama Urges Congress Not to Scale Back Financial Reform
As Congress prepares to overhaul the way Washington regulates the financial system, President Obama urged lawmakers on Friday to resist the lobbying forces working to crush a cornerstone of the administration’s plan.
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
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
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.
