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proposed new agency to protect the interests of the American
consumer. Mr Obama said it was more important than ever to have a
new consumer watchdog, and accused vested interests of trying to
scupper reform. He accused the US Chamber of Commerce of trying to
"kill" plans for the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. The
president was talking on the day he received the Nobel Peace Prize.
More protection His administration has proposed a number of
regulatory reforms designed to prevent another financial crisis. One
of them is to create a new consumer agency to regulate products such
as credit cards and mortgages. It would also force banks to offer
low-risk, standard versions of these products. "Predictably, a lot of
banks and big financial firms don't like the idea of a consumer
agency very much," Mr Obama said. "They're doing what they always do
- using every bit of influence to maintain the status quo that has
maximised their profits at the expense of American consumers. "In
fact, the US Chamber of Commerce is spending millions on an ad
campaign to kill it." But the president said he would not back down
from his plans for reform. He said the new agency was needed to
protect US consumers from "ridiculously confusing contracts" used by
financial institutions. "We have already seen and lived the
consequences of what happens when there is too little accountability
on Wall Street and too little protection on Main Street, and I will
not allow this country to go back there," he said. The White House
also wants to give the central bank, the Federal Reserve, new powers
over big financial firms, including the ability to seize banks whose
collapse could threaten the economy.
