September 25, 2009

A top federal regulator on Thursday denounced as "radical" an element of the Obama administration's plan to overhaul financial rules that would allow states to apply stricter consumer protection laws to banks than the national standard.The remarks by Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan marked the latest debate over the massive plan to restructure the nation's financial rules.

They also reopened the issue of federal pre-emption of state laws governing consumer protection — something Dugan's agency has long battled over with the states.The comptroller's office, a 150-year-old Treasury Department agency, oversees nationally chartered banks. Other regulators, such as Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair, have criticized parts of the Obama plan.