Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, has announced that the committee will hear from federal and state regulators on the future of federal consumer protection in the financial services sector. The hearing entitled, Improving Federal Consumer Protection in Financial Services, will take place on Wednesday, June 13, 2007, at 10:00 a.m. in room 2128 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
The hearing will examine consumer protection in the financial services sector in light of regulatory and judicial decisions over the past several years that have preempted state consumer protection laws for federally chartered institutions, and thereby reduced the role of state officials in policymaking, complaint resolution and enforcement. The hearing will seek ideas for improving consumer protection given these recent changes. The Committee will focus on the adequacy of current federal consumer protection rules (including agencies' use of authority against unfair and deceptive financial trade practices), the effectiveness of existing consumer complaint resolution mechanisms, improvements that may be needed in both of these areas, and the future role of state agencies in protecting financial consumers.
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