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"My main message in today's meeting was very simple: America's banks received extraordinary assistance from American taxpayers to rebuild their industry," Obama said. "Now that they're back on their feet, we expect an extraordinary commitment from them to help rebuild our economy."

Updated: 1:18 p.m.

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Rep. Barney Frank has shepherded the regulatory reform package along.

Washington (CNNMoney.com) – The House passed legislation Friday aimed at preventing the next big financial crisis, ushering in the most sweeping set of changes to the banking regulatory system since the New Deal.

The bill, which passed 223-202, imposes more oversight and stronger capital cushions for the largest banks and Wall Street firms. It forces them to pay a total of as much as $150 billion into an emergency fund that could be tapped when a troubled firm needs to be taken over and broken up.

The legislation also calls for the regulation of some derivatives and creates a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency to regulate products such as credit cards and mortgages.

"The bailouts of AIG and Bear Stearns would be not possible - made illegal - under this bill," Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Committee, said Wednesday as debate started on the bill. "If a company fails, it'll be put to death."

The House rejected, by 223-208, an amendment that would have effectively killed the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, replacing it with a council of existing regulators.

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Treasury Secretary Geithner defended the federal government's bailout of AIG on Capitol Hill Thursday.

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) – Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said on Thursday that he had no choice but to pay top dollar to business partners of troubled insurer AIG to avert a deeper financial panic last year.

Geithner defended regulators' actions to prop up American International Group (AIG, Fortune 500) with $62.1 billion that was essentially funneled to 16 banks that were counterparties to AIG insurance contracts.

"I don't understand why this is so complicated," Geithner told the Congressional Oversight Panel at a hearing on Capitol Hill. "You either prevent default, because default would be cataclysmic – or you don't. If you selectively default on any, the thing will come crashing down."

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WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) - The controversial $700 billion federal bailout program will be extended through Oct. 3, 2010, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said Wednesday.

The Troubled Asset Relief Program will be scaled back and spending limited to newer programs aimed at stopping foreclosures, making loans to small businesses and propping up the credit markets to make loans more available.

"History suggests that exiting prematurely from policies designed to contain a financial crisis can significantly prolong an economic downturn," Geithner wrote in a letter to congressional leaders. "We must not waver in our resolve to ensure the stability of the financial system and to support the nascent recovery that the administration and the Congress have worked so hard to achieve."

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Obama: Bailout for Main Street.'

Washington (CNNMoney.com) - President Obama on Tuesday outlined a broad new proposal to try to spur jobs and give more help to Main Street consumers and businesses.

In a speech at the Brookings Institution, Obama said he wants to give small businesses tax breaks for new hires and equipment purchases. He also wants to expand American Recovery and Reinvestment Act programs and spend some $50 billion more on roads, bridges, aviation and water projects.

Finally, Obama would offer consumers rebates for retro-fitting their homes to consume less energy.

"Even though we have reduced the deluge of job losses to a relative trickle, we are not yet creating jobs at a pace to help all those families who have been swept up in the flood," Obama said in prepared remarks.

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WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) - As credit card companies continue raising rates and fees, lawmakers are considering bills to stop such hikes until new credit card laws take effect.

In the House, a key committee passed a bill to move up by nearly three months the start date of new laws aimed at cracking down on the way credit card issuers raise fees and assess credit risk. The new start date would be Dec. 1, up from Feb. 22.

"It was argued. . . that they needed more time, and we granted them more time, but it was under the understanding that abusive practices would not continue, and double and increase dramatically," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., a bill sponsor, debating amendments to it.

The House Financial Services committee passed it on a voice vote.

In the Senate, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and others have introduced a bill to freeze credit card interest rates until the new legislation takes effect Feb. 22.

"We worked long and hard to enact the safeguards included in the Credit CARD Act," Dodd said. "And no sooner had it been signed into law, but credit card companies were looking for ways to get around the protections this Congress and the American people demanded."

Congressional watchers say that the odds are against passage for either bill, especially since the two are not identical.
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WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) - Senate leaders on Monday unveiled their proposal to tackle overdraft fees, the penalties banks charge customers who spend more than they have in their accounts.

Echoing legislation offered in the House by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., the Senate bill would require banks to ask customers before enrolling them in overdraft programs. In addition, like the House bill, it would limit the number of overdraft fees charged in a year.

Currently more than 75% of banks automatically sign customers up for overdraft programs, according to a study by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

"At a time when many can afford it least, American consumers are being hit with hundreds of dollars in penalties for overdrawing on their account by just a few dollars," said Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Banking Committee. "Banks should not be trying to bolster their profits at the expense of their customers."

But the Senate's bill goes further than the House bill in several areas.

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The Pittsburgh summit was the third G-20 summit in less than a year, and leaders agreed to work together more closely toward sustained growth and cracking down on banking regulations.

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) – Leaders of G-20 nations committed Friday to a timeline to establish and enforce new rules aimed at spurring financial firms around the globe to improve capital cushions and avoid taking risk.

They agreed to keep working to stimulate economies and stabilize financial systems following the worst financial crisis in decades.

"We brought the global economy back from the brink, we laid the groundwork today for longtime prosperity as well," President Obama said at a press conference after the summit concluded. "Still we know there is much further to go."

The Pittsburgh summit was the third G-20 summit in less than a year, and leaders agreed to work together more closely toward sustained growth and cracking down on banking regulations.

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National Economic Council Director Larry Summers blasted big business ads Friday.

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) – A top White House adviser said Friday that business opponents of President Obama's plan to create an agency to protect financial consumers are trying to "scare people."

Larry Summers, director of Obama's National Economic Council, criticized an ad campaign by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for suggesting that a new consumer agency will hurt small businesses that extend credit to their customers.

Summers compared the advertisements to the "death panel ads" invoked by opponents of health care reform.

"I'd suggest those ads are the financial regulatory equivalent to the death panel ads being run with respect to health care," Summers said in a speech at Georgetown University. "Those without a good argument try to scare people ... that's what is happening here."

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WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) - Just a month after taking office, President Obama asked Congress to move fast to reform the "outdated" system of financial oversight and install "tough, new common-sense rules of the road" for Wall Street.

Now, as Obama gave a major address on Monday marking the one-year anniversary of the Lehman Brothers collapse, things haven't advanced very far.

Obama urged Congress to pass his proposed reforms.

"We have to live up to our responsibilities on financial reform," he said. "There will be those who argue we should do less or nothing at all. But
to them I'd say only this: Do you believe that the absence of sound regulation one year ago was good for the financial system? Do you believe the resulting decline in markets and wealth and employment was good for the economy? Or the American people?"

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Curbing medical lawsuits: What Obama really means.

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) – As President Obama turns up the heat on health care reform, one new and surprising detail to emerge is his pledge to tackle medical malpractice.

"I don't believe malpractice reform is a silver bullet, but I have talked to enough doctors to know that defensive medicine may be contributing to unnecessary costs," Obama said Wednesday night.

Obama's decision to wade into the issue has some insiders scratching their heads, because cutting down on medical malpractice lawsuits is a
Republican tenet.

But the president's idea of reducing health care costs by cutting down on lawsuits isn't the same as Republicans, who want to cap lawsuit damage awards. Instead, Obama plans to run with an idea left over from his predecessor's administration and fund pilot projects in states that trumpet patient safety.

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WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) – The fight over health care overhaul is on track be the most expensive issue ever to hit the hallways of Congress.

The bill for lobbyists, television ads and political donations has topped $375 million - or enough to pay the entire insurance tab for about 30,000 families a year.

The big spenders range from drug companies, hospitals and doctor groups to organizations that advocate for unions, immigrants and retirees.

The largest chunk has gone to direct lobbying of lawmakers and other policymakers. In the first half of 2009, the health care industry spent nearly $280 million on lobbyists, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Another $75 million was spent on television advertising airtime by health care interests, mostly politically left-leaning groups and health industries. And another $23 million has flowed from the health care sector into the campaign war chests of 2010 candidates for federal office, on the heals of some $95 million raised during the 2008 cycle.

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"Even before this recession hit, the savings rate was essentially zero, while borrowing had risen and credit card debt had increased," Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address. "More broadly, tens of millions of families have been, for a variety of reasons, unable to put away enough money for a secure retirement. ... We cannot continue on this course."

Most of the following changes will take effect immediately because of rule changes made by the Treasury Department.

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WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) - One of the signature proposals in the Obama administration's efforts to reshape the regulatory framework for banks has been slowed as supporters regroup in the midst of mounting opposition.

The creation of a new consumer protection agency to regulate mortgages, credit cards and credit insurance was never going to be easy. But the forces trying to stop or water down the proposal have grown beyond banks and financial sector lobbyists.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, testifying Wednesday before the Senate Banking Committee, argued strongly that the central bank should keep its consumer protection powers, which would otherwise move to the new agency.

Bernanke also suggested that Congress take steps to elevate consumer protection to a more prominent role at the Fed.

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WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) - The top cop tracking the $700 billion bailout program said Monday that he's concerned federal officials are ignoring his proposals for preventing tax dollars from being wasted or pilfered.

Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general overseeing the Troubled Asset Relief Program, released a 260-page report detailing a long list of concerns about government efforts to prop up hundreds of banks, Wall Street firms and auto companies.

The report criticizes the Treasury Department the most for its unwillingness to adopt some of his recommendations.

Barofsky cites two examples: He wants Treasury to force bailout recipients to keep track of how exactly they are spending TARP funds. He also wants officials to erect a "firewall" to prevent private investment managers - the kind hired to manage and invest taxpayer dollars - from taking advantage of insider knowledge.

"Although Treasury has taken some steps towards improving transparency in TARP programs, it has repeatedly failed to adopt recommendations that SIGTARP believes are essential to providing basic transparency and fulfill Treasury's stated commitment to implement TARP 'with the highest degree of accountability and transparency possible,' " the report stated.

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Bernanke's chairmanship is slated to end next January.'

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) – In the next six months, President Obama faces one of his biggest and most important decisions about the economy.

Should Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke keep his job?

Bernanke's term comes to an end on Jan. 31. Obama will either reappoint or replace him. And the president has been coy about his leanings.

Last month, Obama offered a strong defense of Bernanke, saying he has done a "fine job." At the same time, Obama acknowledged that the Fed had missed key aspects of the financial crisis, saying it "didn't do everything that needed to be done."

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) – President Obama on Wednesday unveiled his long-anticipated plan to restructure how banks and other firms are regulated in the hope of preventing another financial collapse.

The far-reaching effort would reorder the roles of some key agencies to try to tighten government supervision of the financial sector. It would also toughen up standards for big financial firms and create a new agency dedicated to consumer protection.

"We did not choose how this crisis began. But we do have a choice in the legacy this crisis leaves behind," Obama said. "So today, my administration is proposing a sweeping overhaul of the financial regulatory system, a transformation on a scale not seen since the reforms that followed the Great Depression."

On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will head to Capitol Hill to detail the Obama proposals and answer questions. Most of the administration's plans will require legislation to gain force.

One of Obama's more drastic moves would be to abolish the embattled Office of Thrift Supervision and merge it with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) – President Obama on Wednesday will finally announce his long-anticipated plan to restructure how banks and other firms are regulated in the hope of preventing another financial collapse.

The far-reaching effort would reorder the roles of some key agencies to try to tighten government supervision of the financial sector.

Obama's plan will include a proposal to get rid of the embattled Office of Thrift Supervision and merge it with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a senior administration official said Tuesday evening.

The OTS has been on the hot seat for months for its role as the overseer of American International Group (AIG, Fortune 500) and failed lenders IndyMac and Washington Mutual. The comptroller's office is a Treasury Department bureau that regulates national banks.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) – President Obama on Wednesday will finally lift the curtain on his long-anticipated plan to reorder how banks and other firms are regulated in the hope of preventing another financial collapse.

The far-reaching effort will include a proposal to get rid of the embattled Office of Thrift Supervision and merge it with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a senior administration official said Tuesday evening.

The OTS has been on the hot seat for months for its role as the overseer of American International Group and failed lenders IndyMac and Washington Mutual. The comptroller's office is a Treasury Department bureau that regulates national banks.

Obama will also call for the creation of a council of regulators to work alongside the Federal Reserve to monitor risk in the financial system, the official said. The Treasury secretary would chair the council.

In addition, Obama will propose the establishment of a new watchdog agency that would aim to protect consumers from deceptive or dangerous mortgages, credit cards and other financial products.
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President Obama on Wednesday will call for the creation of a new financial watchdog agency.

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) – When President Obama takes the podium on Wednesday to talk about his proposals for avoiding the next financial crisis, he is expected to unveil one idea that speaks directly to consumers and their pocketbooks.

Obama will call for the creation of a new financial watchdog agency. Its mission will be to protect consumers from deceptive or dangerous mortgages, credit cards and other financial products.

Proponents have dubbed it a "financial products safety commission" akin to the federal agency that oversees safety of toys and other products. Obama himself broached the subject on Jay Leno's "The Tonight Show" in March.

"When you buy a toaster, if it explodes in your face, there's a law that says, 'Your toasters need to be safe,'" Obama said. "When you get a credit card or you get a mortgage, there's no law on the books that says, 'If that explodes in your face, financially, somehow you're going to be protected.'"

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