Watchdog Group Calls For New Agency To Protect Consumers

In an upcoming hearing, the leader of a Congressional watchdog group plans to urge lawmakers to establish a new government agency that would be responsible for protecting consumers from unscrupulous policies and programs issued by banks and other financial institutions.

President Obama also has suggested that an independent financial products agency might be a good move. Such an agency would be used to oversee consumer lending and would be just another part of the President’s proposal to reform the U.S. financial regulatory system.

The new agency, which has been dubbed the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, would be the way to repair the damaged credit market, according Elizabeth Warren, chairman of the Congressional Oversight Panel of the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Warren plans to be a key witness at the House committee that plans to hear the President’s plan to revamp the financial regulatory system for the 21st century.

The sentiments in the Congress that support the proposed agency come from Senator Chris Dodd and Obama, as well as others. This comes despite criticism from a variety of business interests.

The Congress has only just started examining the plan, which is being touted as a broad proposal that has wide-ranging implications for the banking and capital markets that are still struggling in the economic recession. Even the European Union has expressed interest in conceiving similar reforms to their own financial systems.

The whole point of this measure is to avoid future crises that were incredibly difficult for Americans to bear. Coupled with the destructive losses in subprime mortgages and loans that consumers couldn’t really afford or understand, you just get a glimpse of the issues under discussion. All of these factors are what led to the recession in the first place.

The focal point of discussions and the implementation of a new agency is to put a final end to the type of lending practices that have helped to cripple the United States’ economy.

Related Articles

• Consumer Federation of America Asks Regulators to Address RALs
The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) is a watchdog group that is pursuing those businesses offering refund anticipation loans. The consumer group has been “mystery
• There’s No Such Thing As A Free Credit Report
It is a basic law of economics: there's no such thing as a free lunch. Turns out, the same is true for most websites that
• Democratic VP Worries Credit Card Industry
The upcoming presidential election is giving the credit card industry cause for concern. Industry thinkers are worried about the impact of democratic presidential candidate Barack
• Tips To Help Your Credit Score
Everyone knows how important it is to have a good credit score. The higher the better is what you always hear, but what can
• How To Read A Credit Report
A credit report is an important piece of information that is used to determine eligibility for jobs to the amount of a consumers annual percentage