Congress Pressed for Reform Bill Deal

[TomCADem]

Source: NY Times

WASHINGTON — As Congressional negotiators begin this week to merge two bills overhauling the financial system, the White House wants them to reach an agreement before President Obama leaves for a Group of 20 meeting this month in Toronto.

The administration has tried to use the summit meeting to foster a sense of urgency among lawmakers. It thinks a deal would give Mr. Obama greater leverage in efforts to persuade other countries to support proposals like a global bank tax and higher capital standards for the largest financial institutions. The higher standards are part of the legislation but would require international coordination.

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In a final, ferocious round of lobbying, big banks are also trying to influence negotiations on whether to curb the fees that retailers must pay when customers swipe credit and debit cards — as the Senate bill seeks to do — and how strictly to impose a ban on proprietary trading, or banks’ making market bets with their own money.

The Senate bill directs regulators to impose such a ban, known as the Volcker Rule, after a period of study; the House version would merely permit the Fed to ban proprietary trading if it threatened the overall stability of the financial system. Most banks prefer the House version.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/business/07regulate.html?src=twt&twt=nytimes

[ShockediSay]

1. Are we giving these banks, & their trading desks, 0 interest loans?

I can see giving commercial bankers {those lending to small businesses]
0 interest loans to boost small business job creation, but not the big boys
with the big bonuses and computerized instant trading.