Robert Gibbs, White House press secretary, was asked today whether the administration will insist on the creation of a separate consumer financial protection agency as part of the year’s plans for banking reform. His response should encourage the consumer advocates pushing for that agency.
The president still believes it is a great priority to have the independent authority to ensure that consumers in this reform are protected from the type of loans that we’ve seen happen that have led to massive foreclosure, the types of tricks with credit cards that we had seen in the past. … So the president continues to be a very strong supporter of that function of the reform bill that we sent to Congress.
Pressed about whether it should be a standalone agency, Gibbs hedged a bit, saying it would have to have “independent authority.” The question remains: Will any Republicans — notably Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who has taken the GOP lead on negotiations — get on board?