Regulation: Reform labored in the United States
From our Washington correspondent
Senator Chris Dodd dream of finishing his career in style. His desire to reform the American finance is not necessarily near completion. The Connecticut Democrat, to Congress since 1974, introduced on Monday a bill that takes into account a number of priorities but Barack Obama has the support of any Republican. "We must restore accountability to our financial system to restore confidence among Americans and that this system works and protects them," said Chris Dodd.
Unpopular in his constituency, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, aged 65, chose not to run again in November and is thus free of any pressure from lobbyists.However, his retirement program withholds part of the authority to rally his fellow skeptics to a text, however priority for the White House. This emphasizes that ten months after the outbreak of the financial crisis is urgent to implement concrete reforms.
Dodd has significantly altered the first draft that was presented in November. At the time, he had described as "abysmal failure" of how the Federal Reserve had analyzed the risks that led to the crisis. He then offered to withdraw the full power of Fed bank supervision to prevent him leaving that responsibility for the conduct of monetary policy.As a result of four months of pressure from the Treasury and the Fed, he proposed Monday a text that would strengthen the supervisory power of the Fed's biggest banks no teletrack payday loans . In addition, it would give the central bank of the United States new powers equivalent financial firms that do not collect public savings.
Deception left the Democratic Party
The Fed would be the same entity selected to house a new autonomous agency to regulate financial services to the general public. This solution creates a great disappointment to the left of the Democratic Party. Barney Frank, chairman of the Committee on Financial Services of the House, believes that inadequate regulation of mortgage and consumer credit is one of the major causes of the crisis.Through his efforts, the House of Representatives has already voted in December a different version of the finance reform that creates a new fully independent agency of the Fed.
The concessions made by Chris Dodd Republicans are not guarantees of the success of his approach. The Conservatives, although the Senate minority can block for months this reform. Conversely, the Democratic leaders of the House consider his text too timid compared to the version of the reform they have to pass in December.
This version will then be harmonized with the version passed in December in the House. After difficult negotiations ever between leaders of both chambers, it would then Senators and Representatives to vote again the same text before submitting it to the signature of President Obama. This will be achieved before the summer.It is unlikely that this deadline.