Copyright 1999 Journal of Commerce, Inc.
Journal of
Commerce
August 6, 1999, Friday
SECTION: INSURANCE; Pg. 10
LENGTH: 434 words
HEADLINE:
Conference panel to meet in September
BYLINE: From Wire
and Staff Reports
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY:
When Congress returns from vacation in early
September, members of a conference committee will face the job of reconciling
House-Senate differences on financial services reform legislation.
After
more than two decades of efforts to permit banks, securities firms and insurers
into one another's businesses, both houses of Congress passed bills this year.
The conference committees now will have to bridge their considerable differences
to try to avert a presidential veto. ""We all know this is a very controversial
bill,'' said Rep. Jim Leach, R- Iowa, chairman of the House Banking Committee.
""I don't believe that it's a foregone conclusion that we can reach resolution,
but I believe there are some grounds for optimism.''
Leach was appointed
to head the conference, which met once Tuesday and will convene again on Sept.
8.
The staffs of the committees involved will work while Congress is out
of town to narrow the gaps between the House and Senate bills.
""There
is a lot of work to be done, but the payoff for getting it done is big,'' said
Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. ""I do
believe that we have come further, faster than any Congress in American history
in trying to take action to modernize the banking structure of the country.''
The Senate passed its bill May 6 and the House followed suit July 1.
Among the key issues to be resolved are the structure banks should adopt
to enter new financial activities and the scope of the Community Reinvestment
Act, which makes banks lend in low-income areas where they take deposits.
President Clinton has threatened to veto the Senate bill over its provisions in
these areas.
Leach predicted the opposing sides will be able to reach a
compromise.
The conferees clearly remain far apart, however, on one of
the most controversial areas of the legislation - ensuring the
privacy of consumers' personal financial
information.
""I believe that this ought to be dealt
with separately, in a separate bill, '' Gramm said. ""I think it is too
important to be a rider to this bill.''
The House voted last week for
its negotiators to push for the broader privacy protections included in its
bill, while the Clinton administration has indicated it would like to go even
further.
""I think this is more important than anything else we can deal
with,'' said New York's John LaFalce, the ranking Democrat on the House Banking
Committee. ""We have got to include it in this bill, or we could lose it.''
The bank reform effort is strongly supported by the U.S. insurance and
banking industry.
LOAD-DATE: August 8, 1999
