Bipartisan Financial Reform Fails

Intense negotiations between Senate Democrats and Republicans regarding financial reform have seemingly been for naught, resulting in Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd’s (D-CT) announcement that he will introduce his own bill for regulatory overhaul. According to the Los Angeles Times, the sticking points apparently centered on the creation of a new consumer protection agency, and whether the U.S. Treasury or the Federal Reserve would oversee such an agency. Dodd has indicated that his bill will incorporate many of the provisions advocated by Republicans, and that the bill will be considered by the Committee the week of March 22.