WASHINGTON
President Obama fought to keep his proposed banking overhaul on track yesterday, casting the political struggle ahead as one between big financial interests and average Americans victimized by complex or unscrupulous financial transactions.
Obama illustrated his call for a consumer-finance agency by showcasing five unwitting borrowers and bank customers whose troubles ranged from huge overdraft fees to unwanted interest-only mortgages.
"My concern are the millions of Americans who behaved responsibly and yet still found themselves in jeopardy because of the predatory practices of some in the financial industry," Obama said.
Obama confronted opponents, singling out the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is conducting a $2 million advertising and organizing effort to defeat the consumer plan.
"They're doing what they always do -- descending on Congress and using every bit of influence they have to maintain a status quo that has maximized their profits at the expense of American consumers," Obama said of his critics.
The proposed consumer agency is a central element of a package of financial regulatory changes the administration says would prevent a crisis like the one that brought Wall Street to its knees last year.
Critics such as the Chamber of Commerce have said that the consumer agency is unnecessary and would impose restrictions even on retailers.
"We disagree that adding a new agency atop a broken regulatory system solves the problem," said David Hirschmann, a chamber official.
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