The new regulator of consumer financial products would be housed in the Federal Reserve and would have the ability to write rules, but most of enforcement would be done by the safety and soundness regulator, according to media reports of a bill to be unveiled today by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.).
The bill would give regulators, such as the NCUA, the power to enforce regulations though the consumer regulator could participate in an examination of a financial institution if it were concerned about a financial institution's practices.
The bill would also create a council of regulators that could by a two-thirds vote overrule a proposed regulation by the consumer regulator.
Dodd has said he hopes the Banking Committee will mark up the measure next week and the full Senate could consider it in April. Any bill passed by the Senate would have to be reconciled with a bill passed by the House last December, which would create an independent consumer agency.
It's not clear what the prospect's are for Dodd's bill. He is introducing it on his own, after negotiations with Republicans were suspended, though the bill includes provisions that had bi-partisan support, it's not clear whether that means the final version will enjoy that kind of support.
