Dodd To Go Solo On Financial Services Bill

The fourth critical issue, creation of a consumer protection agency, is not of interest to the insurance industry because the bill would keep insurance consumer protection regulation in the hands of state insurance regulators.

Dodd praised Corker for his commitment to achieving bipartisan consensus, but he said time is running out.

Dodd refused to give any definite dates for completion of work on the financial services bill, citing his desire to “get it right.”

Dodd also alluded to pressure from the White House, saying the administration cares deeply about financial services regulatory reform. Dodd said he has spoken with the Treasury Department almost every day over the last few weeks and months.

While some reports said the decision to introduce a unilateral bill “dim” hopes for passage of legislation this year, others said there is still a strong likelihood a bill will ultimately be enacted.

Corker in his remarks said he will continue to work with Dodd and his staff.

Jaret Seiberg, an analyst at Concept Capital, Washington, is calling Dodd’s decision to introduce his own bill “progress.”

Work on the bill is a “political process, and Dodd was never going to be able to cut a deal before the committee vote on contentious issues such as the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, the Volcker Rules or a resolution fund,” Seiberg says.

By ending negotiations and pushing the bill through on a party-line vote, “Sen. Dodd can finally start to bring this process to a close,” Seiberg says. “As we have often argued, Dodd and Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., have a long history of cutting a deal just before a bill goes to the full Senate. We believe that will happen in this case.”