House conferees turned down a proposal that would place car dealers under the purview of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), who sponsored the amendment, contrasted the treatment of automobile dealers with that of credit unions.
"A lot of consumers get their car loans from auto dealers, because it's easy, it's convenient," Gutierrez said during the debate. "When you go get a car loan from a credit union, it is monitored and regulated under the consumer agency. If you get the car loan at the car dealership, where it is really scary to get your car loan, then it is not under the agency."
The carve out for automobile dealers is in the Houser's offer to Senate conferees. It was rejected 10-9.
Senate conferees have not responded to the House's offer on consumer issues, including the provisions on interchange.
The interchange provisions, which are strongly opposed by CUNA and NAFCU, contains most of the original amendment that was passed by the Senate when it passed the financial overhaul bill last month. Under the House's offer, The Federal Reserve would still have the power to regulate interchange fees though credit unions and banks with assets of $10 billion or less would be exempt and retailers would be expressly forbidden from discriminating among card types.
