Frank Optimistic on Fed Interchange Delay Posted by AVCU on 4:03 PM

The 4/7 issue of American Banker reports that executive compensation disclosure requirements and debit interchange fee restrictions are two parts of Dodd-Frank that need to be re-visited. The comment came as part of a vehement denial by Frank yesterday that he and Spencer Bachus were at work on a corrections bill to the Dodd-Frank Act enacted last year. Bachus (R) and Frank (D) are Chair and Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee.

In previous press coverage, Chairman Bachus said he was in talks with Frank about legislation that would make several fixes to the Wall Street reform package. In the press conference Frank insisted that was not the case, suggesting it could be mistaken identity.

On Tuesday of this week Frank announced that he would support legislation to delay the implementation of limits on debit card fees in Dodd-Frank, but indicated he was not willing to weigh further alterations. In yesterday's press conference on Capitol Hill, Frank expressed optimism that the Senate would soon act on Jon Tester's bill to delay for two years a rule that would restrict interchange fees on debit cards. For Frank, the turning point came when FDIC Chair Sheila Bair and Fed Reserve Board Chair Ben Bernanke told Congress that the rule could hurt small banks despite an exemption for institutions under $10 billion in assets.  Frank feels that once the Senate moves on Tester's legislation, the House will move similarly in very short order.

Reportedly separately, a spokesperson for Senator Jon Tester confirmed that the senator "is confident he'll have the votes when the bill comes to a floor for a vote." The exact timing of that vote is still unclear. Tester had attempted to attach his legislation as an amendment to a must-pass small business bill but was not successful.