Moving Forward: The Regulatory Structure and Consumer Credit Protections

MF10-13: Because of the severity of the current economic recession, the near-collapse of the United State’s financial system in the fall of 2008, and the central role that poorly regulated consumer lending played in sparking both crises, Congress has now enacted the most significant overhaul of the financial regulatory system in eighty years. The new law was the culmination of nearly two years of sharply divided Congressional and public debate about the form and substance these reforms should take. This debate reflected a number of long-standing ideological differences, including the extent of market intervention that is desirable to protect consumers, whether Congress should curb access to consumer credit in any way, and whether the present disclosurebased consumer protection regime should focus more on substantive regulation that prevents deceptive, unfair or unsustainable lending. The debate also reflected new questions regarding what kind of regulatory structure can best achieve desired goals...