Barney Frank on Financial Reform Leads Congressional Hearings in January

House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) is starting off the New Year with a January 22 hearing on the compensation practices for both financial and non-financial firms. Frank released a statement on what he hopes the Committee will accomplish on January 13.

As Frank resumes his committee's hearings on financial services reform, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-Connecticut) has been busy since the start of 2010 overseeing bipartisan negotiations on his regulatory overhaul bill. The Wall Street Journal reported on January 15

and Washington insiders say Dodd may cancel his plans for a stand-alone Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), and instead opt for "a strong consumer division in a bank regulatory agency, most likely a newly created federal agency combining the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision," according to the American Bankers Association (ABA), which has lobbied against the CFPA.

Other House hearings scheduled for January include:

• ? January 20: Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity January 20 hearing on "H.R. 476, the Housing Fairness Act of 2009"

? January 21: The Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit's hearing on "The Condition of Financial Institutions: Examining the Failure and Seizure of an American Bank"

? January 23: The Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity hearing on "The Impact of the Foreclosure Crisis on Public and Affordable Housing in the Twin Cities."