Dodd, Shelby to unveil financial reforms

TEXT OF STORY

Bill Radke: This week, Democratic Senator Chris Dodd will unveil his financial reform bill, and Republican Senator Richard Shelby will introduce his financial reform bill. They had been working on a joint measure before talks broke down. Reporter Brett Neely has more.

Brett Neely: All last week, rumors swirled about what’s in both draft bills. But Karen Petrou of Federal Financial Analytics says no one knows for sure.

Karen Petrou: This is one of those periods in the legislative process where there’s lots of smoke and figuring out what’s fire-driven is very difficult.

There appears to be a deal that the Treasury Secretary will lead a new systemic risk council to police behavior that could take down the financial system. Both bills are also likely to propose ways to unwind failed financial firms without resorting to expensive bailouts.

But there’s likely to be one major difference between Shelby and Dodd’s bill, says Petrou:

Petrou: The only third rail is the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, as far as I can tell.

Shelby and the Republicans say a new, independent agency isn’t needed. Dodd and the Obama administration say reform won’t mean much without it.

In Washington, I’m Brett Neely for Marketplace.