The Federal Reserve on Thursday proposed a new rule that would dramatically cut the swipe fees that banks charge merchants when customers use debit cards. The move, which stems from a provision in the financial overhaul bill in July, could benefit stores. But banks say it could harm consumers.
During a speech Monday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pledged a speedy implementation of the financial system overhaul. One of the first tasks on the list? Simplifying all the paperwork.
The passing of Sen. Robert Byrd, the longtime West Virginia Democrat, could throw a wrench into the party's plans to pass the landmark financial-overhaul bill by July 4 and thereby to hand President Obama a key election-year victory.
The Senate is expected to begin voting on amendments to the hotly contested financial reform bill Tuesday afternoon. The bill would create a new consumer protection watchdog within the Federal Reserve; increase federal bank supervision; and end "too big to fail" bailouts.
Dodd's soon-to-be-unveiled proposal appears to have a fatal flaw: It enshrines the notion that it's good to have banks that are Too Big to Fail (TBTF). It'll likely propose an alphabet soup of regulators who'll be infighting too much to notice when a giant bank is about to blow.
