Democrats press advantage on financial reform
WASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) – Democrats in the U.S.
Senate pressed forward on a sweeping overhaul of regulations on
Wednesday including steps to drive banks from one of the
lucrative markets at the heart of the financial crisis.
As President Barack Obama prepared to call on Wall Street
to get behind the reform effort, Democrats sought to ride
widespread public anger at the financial sector to a
legislative victory on Capitol Hill.
Senator Dodd: Financial reform to Senate in “hours”
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Democratic leaders plan to seek a key procedural vote on Thursday on financial reform legislation and are targeting a final vote next Monday, a senior Democratic aide said on Wednesday.
At the same time, Democratic leaders are awaiting the outcome of continued negotiations over the bill toward a possible bipartisan compromise, said the senior aide and other Senate staffers involved in the closed-door talks.
Ex-CEO on Lehman’s ruin: “I have to live with that”
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former Lehman Brothers CEO Richard Fuld lifted his bowed head, looked squarely at U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday and acknowledged that people were hurt in the collapse of the former Wall Street giant.
“I have to live with that,” he said, slumped in a chair at a Capitol Hill inquiry into the biggest-ever U.S. bankruptcy, which helped trigger a global financial crisis and set off the worst U.S. recession since the 1930s.
Ex-Lehman CEO faces Congress amid reform battle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Richard Fuld, former CEO of Lehman Brothers, was summoned to Capitol Hill Tuesday to answer for the collapse of the fallen Wall Street giant, amid signs a vote on historic financial reforms may be delayed.
Known as “The Gorilla” inside Lehman in its heyday, Fuld was slated to headline a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee chaired by Representative Barney Frank, the Democrats’ gruff architect of financial reform in Congress.
Bank tax plan seen too divisive for G20 this week
OTTAWA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – When the IMF presents a much-awaited report on the idea of a global bank levy this week, rich nations will only commit to giving it further consideration due to sharp differences on the issue.
Charges by U.S. regulators that Goldman Sachs <GS.N> duped clients into investing in a money-losing subprime mortgage product have added to calls for an overhaul of financial regulations, just as G20 finance ministers and central bank governors prepare to discuss reforms in Washington on Friday.
Obama to press for financial overhaul in New York
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama will push for his plan to tighten Wall Street regulations in New York on Thursday, the White House said on Monday, as he attempts to overcome solid Republican opposition.
The battle over a financial regulatory overhaul represented a new election-year fault line in Washington after the bruising healthcare debate, and poses a new challenge for Obama as he seeks to gain passage of one of his key domestic priorities.
Obama demands tough derivatives curbs, GOP defiant
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama vowed on Friday to veto any financial reform bill that is too soft on the derivatives market, while all 41 Republicans in the Senate lined up against a bill being pushed by Democrats.
As the debate in Washington on tighter oversight of banks and capital markets intensified, regulators charged Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs with fraud linked to subprime mortgages, driving bank shares and the broader stock market lower.
Goldman charges bolster case for bank reform
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Fraud charges filed by federal regulators against Goldman Sachs on Friday immediately added momentum to the push on Capitol Hill for U.S. financial regulation reform.
A sweeping reform bill was expected to come to a vote soon in the Senate. The Democratic bill, backed by President Barack Obama, would slap new restraints on large firms like Goldman.
Democrats chip away at GOP on financial reform
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – To get financial reform legislation through the U.S. Senate Democrats need to peel away just one Republican to support their sweeping bill.
To improve their odds, they are courting a handful of moderate Republicans, some of whom face reelection challenges, and some from states hit hard by recession and foreclosures, according to Senate aides, analysts and lobbyists.
US Senate Dems pave way for financial reform vote
WASHINGTON, April 15 (Reuters) – Democrats pressed ahead
with financial regulation reform in the U.S. Congress on
Thursday, rejecting Republican complaints and preparing the way
for a final vote on legislation in the Senate.
The last unfinished piece of a massive Democratic bill –
new rules for the $450 trillion over-the-counter derivatives
market — was expected to take clearer shape on Friday with the
release of proposals from the Senate Agriculture Committee.
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