Another Front Opens in the Battle Over Interchange Fees

On February 9, 2011 the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform chaired by Darrell Issa (R,CA) issued a preliminary staff report titled “Assessing Regulatory Impediments to Job Creation.”



Darrell Issa (R-CA) chairs the House
Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform



Included in this cross industry examination of rules that may negatively impact job creation is an analysis of the hundreds of rules necessary to implement the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act and its Durbin interchange amendment.  According to the study, the top two most problematic rules affecting the financial services sector were the Federal Reserve Board’s (FRB) debit card interchange fees and routing (Durbin iinterchante amendment) and the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).  Look for Chairman Issa to tie this to President Obama’s January 18, 2011 Executive Order titled “Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review” designed to remove regulatory barriers that stifle economic growth. 

You can expect Chairman Issa to hold hearings on the findings of this preliminary report to “ensure that the processes used to implement these rules are transparent, that the agencies have provided adequate opportunity for stake holder participation, and that the agencies have taken all reasonable steps to minimize the cost of compliance for America’s job creators.”

The above criteria could add to the Durbin Interchange amendment controversy, since the House held no hearings on the Amendment. 

Any such hearing will be unrelated to the upcoming February 17^th Hearing “Understanding the Federal Reserve’s Proposed Rule on Interchange Fees: Implications and Consequences of the Durbin Amendment.”

Another Front Opens in the Battle Over Interchange Fees