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As the Senate weighs debate on financial reform, polls show that more Americans are calling for financial overhaul and more support the creation of a dedicated consumer watch dog agency for banking, credit cards, and other financial services.
According to a new poll by the Washington Post and ABC News, about two thirds of Americans, or 65 percent support tighter regulations of the financial services industry. In addition, 59 percent of the 1,000 consumers polled said that they support increased oversight of the way banks, credit card companies, and other financial companies make consumer loans, including mortgages, auto loans, credit cards.
According to a new poll by the Washington Post and ABC News, about two thirds of Americans, or 65 percent support tighter regulations of the financial services industry. In addition, 59 percent of the 1,000 consumers polled said that they support increased oversight of the way banks, credit card companies, and other financial companies make consumer loans, including mortgages, auto loans, credit cards.
“Even though important new consumer protections related to credit cards, mortgage loans, and student loans have recently been approved, Americans still believe that new consumer financial reforms are needed,” said Travis Plunkett, Legislative Director of Consumer Federation of America. “The most effective and rational way to establish these protections is to create a new, independent consumer financial protection agency that can monitor industry practices and address those that are unfair to consumers.”
A financial reform bill, which included a consumer financial protection agency, passed the House of Representatives in the fall. The Senate is now weighing debate on a financial reform bill, which aims to create some of the most far-reaching changes in the regulation of the financial services industry since the Great Depression.
The proposed consumer financial protection agency would function as a central watchdog for credit cards and other financial services products. The regulatory powers for consumer financial products is currently dispersed throughout the Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Centralizing responsibility into one independent agency, some lawmakers believe, would more effectively prevent deceptive lending practices, which many believe played a big role in triggering the prolonged economic downturn.
The financial regulation bill weighed in the Senate, if passed, would establish a new consumer protection agency within the Federal Reserve, rather than as an independent agency. It would also introduce new restrictions on financial institutions and closer regulation of previously unregulated transactions, as well as give the government new power to oversee the dissolution of large failing institutions.
