Dodd: Protecting consumers should be key priority of financial oversight

Dodd: Protecting consumers is top priority

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee says protecting consumers should be a top priority when overhauling the regulatory framework that governs banks and other financial institutions.

Sen. Christopher Dodd says people are hurting and angry from the economic downturn and that “someone should have their backs.”

The Connecticut Democrat also says that regulators must be empowered and that gaps in oversight should be eliminated. Financial institutions that pose a threat to the economy shouldn’t go unchecked, he says, and there should be more transparency in certain markets.

Dodd has committed to trying to push through oversight reforms by the end of the year.