New agency arrives with broad powers to police financial products
Connie Prater (Creditcard.com)
July 20, 2011
―In what consumer groups are heralding as a historic moment for American families, a new federal consumer financial watchdog agency officially opened for business Thursday. It is doing so, however, amid a swirl of controversy and uncertainty about its future, its leadership and its actual powers. … Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform, said the 2008 mortgage crisis that crippled Wall Street made the need “astoundingly clear” for a new consumer financial watchdog. Under the current federal regulatory system, banks are reviewed for the safety and soundness of their banking operations by the same regulators that review whether they comply with consumer protection laws. Click here for more.