Financial Reform Deal Struck

House and Senate conferees finalized their work on new financial regulatory reforms, including the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, in a marathon session that ended at almost 6AM today. You can read details of the deal in a variety of formats, the Washington Post has a very cool infographic up laying out the basic mechanics of several key areas. The WSJ does a nice breakdown of major provisions as well.

Clearly the big newsies had their teams hard at work early this morning. Our Research Fellow, Tim Fernholz, logged a ton of hours covering this for his main gig at The American Prospect, here’s his bottom line:

The bill appears to largely resemble the Senate version, with some additional loopholes and some improvements — particularly on Volcker — thanks to the conference process. While complaints that Dodd-Frank doesn’t “reshape” Wall Street and leaves too many good reforms on the table aren’t inaccurate — and they provide an agenda for the future — the bill itself deserves to be held to a different standard: Will it fix serious holes in financial regulation and empower regulators? Will it limit risk and reduce bank profit? Does it include landmark provisions like a new consumer regulator and derivatives reform? Does it seriously diminish the potential for future bailouts? The answer to all of those questions is “yes,” and that makes this legislation quite an accomplishment.

From our perspective, a strong and independent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau appears to be a reality for the first time in our history. This is a major victory for consumers of financial products. There’s some concern about the auto dealership carve out, but there’s no question that this bill will make a significant difference in the lives of low- and moderate-income Americans. Congratulations to the staff and members who worked so hard to produce this bill, and to advocates like Elizabeth Warren who should view this day as a large feather in their cap. All the work is not finished, as the bill has been altered from what previously passed both houses, it will have to be voted on again in the House and Senate. However, it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which the bill does not pass–do Republicans (and perhaps a few conservative Democrats) want to go on record against this bill at the end of the day? The final vote totals may be surprising, regardless the end is practically a formality at this point, and some of those hard-working negotiators may finally get themselves some well deserved rest, and maybe even a vacation day.