The U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to emerge as the regulator of systemic risk in the United States, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said on Tuesday.
According to the Frank, one of the key decision that government will have to take is whether to appoint a Federal entity to regulate systemic issues in the U.S. to prevent a re-occurrence of the "too big to fail" problem. Frank added that the Fed will emerge as the likely candidate.
The Congressman would like to see the legislation in place by April, he said.
He also confirmed that Washington is working to try to fix the negative public image of the Troubled Asset Relief Program by cracking down on CEO compensation for firms accessing the funds, and by requiring banks participating in the program to publish detailed statements explaining where the money is going.
Frank also said he plans to make housing a priority in 2009, with emphasis on promoting the rental housing market in the coming months.
He said he wants to pass additional measures for consumer protection, including measures on credit card debt.
The remarks are consistent with an article in the Wall Street Journal earlier on Tuesday saying that lawmakers were examining the possibility of expanding the U.S. Federal Reserves' regulatory powers to include the monitoring of credit derivatives.
By Erik Kevin Franco and edited by Stephen Huebl
©CEP News Ltd. 2009