Latest News Nov 5, 2009 House Passes Expedited Credit Card Reform Bill Nov 4, 2009 Investor Protection Act Passes House Committee Oct 29, 2009 CFPA Bill Clears Second House Panel Oct 29, 2009 Geithner Defends Resolution Authority Plan; Bair Raises Objections Oct 28, 2009 House Committee, Treasury Propose Systemic Risk Bill Oct 28, 2009 Pay Czar Sees AIG Bonuses As Top Priority   Archive Contact CCH Focus CCH Focus CCHFocusEditor@cch.com   CCH Customer Support Phone: 800.449.6435 Subscriber Invitation Visitors to CCH Focus are invited to submit articles for future issues. Analyses, viewpoints, letters to the editor, manuscripts, legal memoranda and other original materials that could be adapted for publication are welcome. Submissions or queries may be sent to   Serena Lynn, Editor 2700 Lake Cook Road, Riverwoods, Illinois 60015 Phone: 847.267.7087 Fax 847.267.7776 CCHFocusEditor@cch.com

Sign up via House Passes Expedited Credit Card Reform Bill By Sarah Borchersen-Keto, CCH Washington News Bureau, Contributing Author, the CCH Federal Banking Law Reporter, Nov. 5, 2009. The House of Representatives voted 331 to 92 on November 4 in favor of H.R. 3639, the Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act of 2009, which would speed up the effective date of credit card reform legislation from Feb. 22, 2010, to immediately upon signing of the bill. The bill was introduced in reaction to reports that credit card companies were abusing the grace period by altering rates and terms after President Obama signed reform legislation in May. A recent report from The Pew Charitable Trusts found that advertised credit card interest rates rose an average of 20 percent in the first two quarters of 2009, even as banks’ cost of lending declined. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., a co-sponsor of the bill, noted that “card companies have redoubled many of the abusive practices that brought Congress... Read full article Investor Protection Act Passes House Committee By Sarah Borchersen-Keto, CCH Washington News Bureau, Contributing Author, the CCH Federal Banking Law Reporter, Nov. 4, 2009. Legislation passed Nov. 4, 2009, by the House Financial Services Committee would double the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) budget over the next five years, while ramping up the agency’s enforcement powers and regulatory authorities. H.R. 3817, the Investor Protection Act, introduced by Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., passed by a vote of 41-28. “Our financial system has failed far too many investors for far too long and we must change course,” Kanjorski said. The legislation also includes a provision that would exempt small businesses with a market capitalization of $75 million or less from complying with the audit requirements of the Sarbanes Oxley Act. Fiduciary Standard H.R. 3817 would require broker dealers and investment advisors to adopt a fiduciary standard... Read full article CFPA Bill Clears Second House Panel By Sarah Borchersen-Keto, CCH Washington News Bureau, Contributing Author, the CCH Federal Banking Law Reporter, Oct. 29, 2009. The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Oct. 29, 2009, voted 33 to 19 in favor of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act of 2009 (H.R. 3126), which has already cleared the House Financial Services Committee. The legislation would create a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), responsible for consumer protection across the entire financial marketplace, while also providing important new powers for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that would improve the FTC’s rulemaking and enforcement capabilities. The bill would preserve the FTC’s ability to enforce its current statutory authorities and ensure that the agency had shared enforcement over some powers being transferred to the CFPA. The FTC also would have the ability to intervene and have its voice heard in any enforcement actions initiated by the CFPA.... Read full article Geithner Defends Resolution Authority Plan; Bair Raises Objections By Sarah Borchersen-Keto, CCH Washington News Bureau, Contributing Author, the CCH Federal Banking Law Reporter, Oct. 29, 2009. Proposed new authority that would allow the government to step in and resolve large, failing financial institutions would not result in a category of firms deemed too big to fail, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner assured Congress on Oct. 29, 2009. Geithner told the House Financial Services Committee that the proposed legislation, announced a day earlier by the Treasury Department and the committee, would mean that if systemically important firms got themselves in the position where they could not survive on their own, “then the only authority we would have is to manage their failure.” Committee... Read full article House Committee, Treasury Propose Systemic Risk Bill By Richard Roth, J.D., Editor, the CCH Federal Banking Law Reporter, CCH Bank Compliance Guide and Bank Digest, October 28, 2009. The Treasury Department and the House Financial Services Committee leadership have jointly drafted a bill that is intended to address both systemic risk in the financial system and the problem of institutions that are seen as “too big to fail.” The proposal, designated as a “discussion draft,” is intended to create a way to monitor and reduce the threats posed by systemically risky firms and establish a process... Read full article Pay Czar Sees AIG Bonuses As Top Priority By Sarah Borchersen-Keto, CCH Washington News Bureau, Contributing Author, the CCH Federal Banking Law Reporter, October 28, 2009. Reworking roughly $180 million in guaranteed bonus contracts that come due at American International Group’s financial products division next year is a “top priority,” Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation Kenneth Feinberg told Congress October 28. “We will see what we can work out with AIG going forward in an effort to satisfy the statute, satisfy the regulations, satisfy the American people. And I view that as a top priority,” Feinberg told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Feinberg added that he has no desire to extend his compensation oversight responsibilities beyond the seven major firms that received exceptional government assistance. “I do not believe…that we should be micromanaging other companies in the private sector,” Feinberg said, adding that he hopes his recommendations... Read full article

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