Cleaver offers more information about Wall Street reform

In his latest EC from DC newsletter, Fifth District Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo, offers more information about the recently passed Wall Street reform package:

Two years ago Bear Stearns collapsed and our huge financial industry house of cards began to fall. Trillions of your hard-earned dollars were erased and over 8 million jobs were lost, in large part, because of failures in our financial system. That failed regulatory system will now come to an end.

There were many who did not want the reform, many who believed foolishly that the market would sort itself out. In fact, some have even gone so far as to propose a year-long moratorium on new federal regulation. Clearly, some would like to ignore the lessons of the last few years, and preserve a system that protected big banks above those who invested their hard-earned money in good faith.

I was proud to both work on, and vote for these Wall Street reforms. This law represents the most sweeping regulatory changes of our financial industry since the Great Depression. This is a huge step forward. Last week I outlined the bill in detail. This week, as it is now law, I thought you might be interested in some very good things the law will do that you may not have heard about.  

The Top 10 Things You May Not Know About the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

1. Stronger protections for consumers against unfair credit card practices like rate hikes for existing credit card balances.

2. Mortgage brokers will be prohibited from making higher commissions by selling mortgages they know consumers can’t afford.

3. Free annual credit scores so people can stay on top of their finances. 

4. No more taxpayer-funded bailouts. If a company can’t make it, it will have to liquidate. 

5. Greater input by company shareholders over how much a CEO gets paid.  And companies’ compensation boards are now required to be truly independent.

6. Brokers who offer investment advice will have to act in the best interests of their customers, not their own financial interests.

7. Financial firms won't be allowed to grow so large that if one fails, it will affect the entire financial system. 

8. There will be one agency whose sole job is to make sure that consumers get the protections they deserve and to set clear rules to hold banks, mortgage companies, payday lenders, and credit card lenders accountable.

9. Businesses can't be charged extra fees for debit card “swipe fees” that exceed the cost of processing transactions.

10.    You can learn plenty more here or at financialstability.gov