| Financial Regulatory Reform |
This is a new day. In June of 2009, President Obama called for major reforms as we were desperately trying to climb from the depths of the financial crisis. And we've achieved the vast majority of his goals. I was proud to be a conferee to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. With this package the conference approved on June 28, Congress is close to the finish line to enacting the most comprehensive financial reform since the Depression.
We have established a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; we've established a Systemic Risk Council for regulators to oversee all aspects of the financial system; we've required that banks can no longer trade for their own accounts; we’ve strengthened investor protections; we’ve brought transparency to the derivatives market; and we've created a mechanism to wind down troubled financial institutions so that taxpayers never have to be on the hook again.
It's not just consumers who will benefit. We've required that the Federal Reserve establish fairer interchange rates charged for debit cards-- that are more in line with the actual cost of processing a transaction. That will help small businesses all across America-- the engine of job growth.
I'm glad to have worked with Sen. Durbin on interchange fees to work out compromise language representing a balanced approach that addresses concerns by merchants about high interchange fees, and the financial industry’s concerns that fees will be set too low to allow institutions to cover the cost of providing critical banking services.
The compromise language continues to enable those who don’t have access to traditional banking services to use pre-paid debit cards and ensures that state governments will continue to be able to distribute public benefits on debit cards.
As President Obama has said, everyone has a stake in financial reform: whether you’re a family trying to buy your first house, a parent trying to fund your child’s education, an employee trying to save for retirement, or an entrepreneur trying to expand your business.
I agree with Sheila Bair at the FDIC when she says these new rules end "too big to fail." We've made sure that it's the risk-takers, not the taxpayers, who take the hit when something goes wrong.
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