Elizabeth Warren is doing interview again.   From today’s Huffington Post: 

Though her endorsement isn’t a ringing one, Warren, who chairs the congressional panel overseeing the bailout, said that the version emerging from negotiators is strong enough to rein in abuses in the lending industry despite exemptions that Congress has carved out for auto dealers.

“I’m disappointed that Congress seems to be taking the side of auto lenders and big banks over the Pentagon, community banks, and all the public interest groups that oppose an auto dealer carve-out, and there are some other problems as well,” said Warren. “But right now the bureau has the authority and the independence it needs to fix the broken credit market. I keep waiting for an incoming missile that means the banks have won their fight to destroy this consumer agency, but that hasn’t happened so far — and I don’t think it will.”

Fine, fix the “broken credit market.”  But the consumer lending market doesn’t need fixing.  It had nothing to do with the economic meltdown.

Chairman Frank said that “counter offers” (basically everything that’s still in disagreement) will be considered tomorrow.  Looks like they are on schedule to finish tomorrow night.

As a consumer, I do not feel “protected”, just over regulated and a bit upset that I am no longer able to make financial decisions for myself. I am sad to know how many credit options we as American’s will lose, due to this political charade. How many of our rights must we lose before we as a whole start to notice?

From the House Financial Services website:

Independent Head: Led by an independent director appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

Independent Budget: Dedicated budget paid by the Federal Reserve Board.
Independent Rule Writing: Able to autonomously write rules for consumer protections governing all entities – banks and non-banks – offering consumer financial services or products. 

Examination and Enforcement: Authority to examine and enforce regulations for banks and credit unions with assets of over $10 billion and all mortgage-related businesses (lenders, servicers, mortgage brokers, and foreclosure scam operators) and large non-bank financial companies, such as large payday lenders, debt collectors, and consumer reporting agencies.  Banks with assets of $10 billion or less will be examined  by the appropriate bank regulator.

Consumer Protections: Consolidates and strengthens consumer protection responsibilities currently handled by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Office of Thrift Supervision, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Federal Reserve, National Credit Union Administration, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Federal Trade Commission.

From Politico: 

The lead Senate Wall Street reform negotiator acknowledged Tuesday that Democrats are facing a nail-biting vote in the Senate, forcing congressional leaders to lean on Republicans to pass a bill unlikely to gain the support of two Democrats who have been holdouts for weeks. 

No one is predicting the bill will falter at this late hour, but the situation is forcing Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) to moderate the measure in a way that very likely will disappoint liberals. 

“It is a Rubik’s Cube, to put it mildly,” Dodd told POLITICO. 

What have they been up to lately?  Check it them out here.

In today’s Financial Times:

A conference of lawmakers on Tuesday backed a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to regulate credit products, housing it within the Federal Reserve but granting a high level of independence.

————————————————–

In public and behind-the-scenes talks, House of Representatives and Senate teams will thrash out the final text on the most contentious areas: rules to ban banks from proprietary trading and force them to spin off swaps desk.

————————————————–

It will still require approval by the House and Senate in separate votes next week but congressional staff have been working to craft a series of compromises acceptable to those who want a sweeping reform of Wall Street and those who urge moderation.

The search for compromise is necessary because 60 votes will be needed in the Senate, where Democrats have a caucus of only 59 senators not all of whom are expected to vote in favour of the bill.

Auto dealers get exemption from the CFPB.

From the AP:

Lawmakers on a special negotiating committee narrowing differences in the broader rewrite of financial regulation in generations agreed in principle Tuesday to create a new government agency to oversee credit products offered to consumers.

Senators on the conference committee late Tuesday accepted a host of House of Representatives amendments, all but clearing the way for creation of what will be called the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection to be housed at the Federal Reserve and partially funded by the central bank.

The panel would address several of the contributing factors to the U.S. financial crisis, especially mortgage lending, a root cause of the crisis. Big non-bank lenders and mortgage brokers, who together exploited gaps in federal regulation or located in states with weak local regulation, will now come under the purview of the bureau. Similarly, payday lenders who have had little direct federal regulation now will be under a regulatory microscope.

Conference will reconvene at 1:00 tomorrow, but I believe everything related to consumer protection is done.  I will seek clarification.   When the conference ends on Thursday, the “conference report” (which is the form most legislation takes) will go back to the House and Senate for a final vote.  Conference Reports cannot be amended, they are simple up or down votes.