|
|
Article: House Panel Clears Derivatives Bill, Debates Plan for Consumer Agency
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- October 16, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Washington Post. This material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
|
The Obama administration won its first major victory Thursday in
its effort to overhaul the nation's financial system as a key House
committee passed a bill to regulate exotic financial instruments
known as derivatives.
Trading in derivatives -- contracts used to bet on the movement
of stocks, bonds, commodities and other things -- magnified last
year's financial crisis by forcing companies to record bigger losses
as markets collapsed. But for years policymakers had rejected
regulating the derivatives market, worried about stifling financial
innovation.
The vote Thursday by the House Financial Services Committee,
largely along party lines, endorsed a central plank of the
administration's ...