SmartInMoney

 

 

 

The Senate passed landmark financial overhaul bill 60-39 Thursday, following House passage last month. The bill is to be signed into law by President Barack Obama soon. The passage of the sweeping bill ends more than a year of wrangling over the shape of the new rules.

 

The bill marks a potential broad change for the financial-services industry. The legislation creates a council of federal regulators to monitor economic risks; establishes a new agency to police consumer financial products; and sets new standards for the way derivatives are traded. It leaves a vast number of details for regulators to work out, inevitably setting off another round of battles that could last for years.

 

Treasury Department officials have taken initial steps to prepare the new consumer agency, called the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection and housed within the Federal Reserve. Regulators are in the process of creating a system so that large, complex and failing financial companies can be broken up and liquidated without disrupting markets.

 

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has designated resources to begin implementing its expansive new authority over derivatives. The Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Securities and Exchange Commission are also very involved in the implementation.

 

Democrats say the bill will cut the odds of another crisis and better handle one when it arrives. They also contend it will restore confidence in U.S. financial markets, protect consumers and spur growth.