WASHINGTON, July 28 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will convene a meeting Thursday with the top financial regulators to begin launching the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The new bureau was created by the financial regulatory overhaul legislation that President Barack Obama signed into law last week. It will regulate consumer financial products ranging from credit cards to mortgages.
'The meeting will serve to formally begin an ongoing process of interagency collaboration around the stand-up of the bureau, including discussions regarding the consolidation of regulatory responsibilities and staff to improve coordination and efficiency in consumer protection,' the Treasury Department said in a statement.
The meeting is expected to be attended by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Fed Governor Elizabeth Duke, along with the heads of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, Federal Trade Commission, Comptroller of the Currency, Office of Thrift Supervision and National Credit Union Administration.
Shaun Donovan, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag, are also expected to attend.
The Obama administration considered the bureau one of the most critical parts of the new legislation, but banks fought it bitterly.
The post to head the new bureau is considered an important one, but the timing of an appointment is unclear. Potential candidates include Elizabeth Warren, a Harvard law professor and outspoken consumer rights advocate.
(Reporting by John Poirier, editing by Philip Barbara) Keywords: FINANCIAL REGULATION/CONSUMER (john.poirier@thomsonreuters.com; +1 202 898 8399; Reuters Messaging: john.poirier.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
The new bureau was created by the financial regulatory overhaul legislation that President Barack Obama signed into law last week. It will regulate consumer financial products ranging from credit cards to mortgages.
'The meeting will serve to formally begin an ongoing process of interagency collaboration around the stand-up of the bureau, including discussions regarding the consolidation of regulatory responsibilities and staff to improve coordination and efficiency in consumer protection,' the Treasury Department said in a statement.
The meeting is expected to be attended by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Fed Governor Elizabeth Duke, along with the heads of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, Federal Trade Commission, Comptroller of the Currency, Office of Thrift Supervision and National Credit Union Administration.
Shaun Donovan, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag, are also expected to attend.
The Obama administration considered the bureau one of the most critical parts of the new legislation, but banks fought it bitterly.
The post to head the new bureau is considered an important one, but the timing of an appointment is unclear. Potential candidates include Elizabeth Warren, a Harvard law professor and outspoken consumer rights advocate.
(Reporting by John Poirier, editing by Philip Barbara) Keywords: FINANCIAL REGULATION/CONSUMER (john.poirier@thomsonreuters.com; +1 202 898 8399; Reuters Messaging: john.poirier.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.