house ok’s financial overhaul bill

a sharply divided house yesterdaymetal halide bulbspassed the most dramatic overhaul of us financial regulations since the great depression, voting to establish a new borrower protection agency and give the government sweeping new powers to crack down on the types of wall street practices that caused last year’s economic meltdown.

the 223-to-202 approval was a crucial victory for president obama, who has made rewriting financial rules a cornerstone of his domestic policy agenda.

but the measure passed withoutmolda single republicanmetal halide bulbsvote, and 27 democrats joined the gop in opposition, which could spell trouble next year when the senate begins deliberating its version of the bill and democratic leaders will probably need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.

led by massachusetts representative barney frank, chairman of the house financial services committee, the house has been working for months on the package of legislation, which is a direct response to the credit markets’ collapse and the resulting recession that has crippled the american economy and sent unemployment soaring to double digits.

it would establish a newmoldconsumer financial protection agency, which wouldmetal halide bulbsseek to oid a repeat of the mortgage crisis by writing new lending and credit rules. it would impose new regulations on hedge fund managers and the traders of complex securities called derivatives. and it would require federal agencies to monitor systemic risks in the financial markets and take actions to oid another crisis, giving government the authority to seize control of teetering financial institutions that are considered “too big to fail.’’