Politics | Barack Obama Obama Ready to Compromise on Finance Reform Would sacrifice standalone consumer agency to pass bill By Kevin Spak Posted Feb 25, 2010 8:25 AM CST Copied President Barack Obama discusses the economy with the Business Roundtable as they meet at the St. Regis Hotel in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) The Obama administration says it’s willing to scrap elements of its financial regulatory reform effort—particularly a standalone consumer protection agency—if it’ll help the bill sprint through Congress. Republicans have complained that a standalone agency would be a new bureaucracy, so team Obama says it’s open to housing it within an existing entity like the Treasury Department, provided it has the autonomy and power to do its job, the Washington Post reports. The administration may also have to give up the “Volcker rule,” which would prohibit banks from engaging in risky investment activities that don’t benefit their customers. Senate leaders favor legislation that would leave it up to regulators, rather than the law, to ban such activities. Reform may also get a shot in the arm from Wall Street itself; industry officials say bank executives have moved from lobbying against reform to working with Democrats to shape it. Read These Next New York Times ranks the best movies of the 21st century. Supreme Court gives Trump big win on national injunctions. Actor Sam Rockwell gets residuals from movie he wasn't in. A man has been deported for kicking an airport customs beagle. Report an error