Consumers May Get a Seat at the Financial Regulatory Table
User:
pedro
Date: 6/17/2009 2:49 pm
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President Obama has proposed a credit safety agency for consumers. The Consumer Financial Protection Agency would ensure the safety, fairness and sustainability of credit. The agency would have broad powers to ensure that credit and payment products do not have predatory or deceptive features that can harm consumers or lock them into unaffordable loans.
The President’s proposal addresses a glaring oversight in the regulatory structure by creating an agency designed to monitor the safety of financial products from the viewpoint of the consumer. The current system has treated consumer protection as secondary or even in direct conflict with ensuring the soundness of financial institutions.
In the past, when financial rules were made the consumer rarely had a seat at the table. The Consumer Financial Protection Agency would create that seat and help prevent another financial meltdown.
This is similar to a proposal by Senator Richard Durbin and Representative William Delahunt (S. 566/ H.R. 1705). Both Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd and House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank have endorsed the concept as well.
