subject: Dodd-Frank Bill to Create Powerful Consumer Financial Protections Bureau [print this page] Dodd-Frank Bill to Create Powerful Consumer Financial Protections Bureau
Alabama consumer product safety report: "After marathon negotiations lasting into the pre-dawn hours of this morning, negotiators from the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives and the Obama administration reached a deal that is nothing short of a major victory for consumers. Touted by some as the biggest financial reform since the Great Depression, the Dodd-Frank Bill, created in reaction to the economic meltdown of 2008 and named for Rep. Barney Frank and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, is going before the House and Senate for approval. Lawmakers hope approval will come by July 4.
The measure creates a powerful consumer financial protection bureau to police lending, sets up a warning system for financial risks, and forces large failing firms to liquidate. Further, the Bill sets new rules for financial instruments that have been largely unregulated. Under the agreement, banks would be forced to spin off their riskiest derivative trades. They would also be allowed to continue credit default swaps as long as they are conducted through clearing houses. Limitations on high-risk trades and investment in hedge funds and equity funds were also included in the agreement. By adding accountability, the goal of the Bill is to help prevent another financial meltdown like the one experienced in 2008. Said Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, "It represents the most sweeping set of financial reforms since those that followed the Great Depression. It establishes the greatest consumer financial protections in American history. It prevents financial firms from taking risks that will threaten the economy. And it provides the government with significant new tools to better protect taxpayers from the damage of future financial crises."...Readmore
