Capital Briefs: House GOP Chiefs Make Banks No Promises

During a 30-minute meeting with banking industry leaders Wednesday, House Republican leaders did not agree to accept any pro-bank change the Senate may make in financial reform legislation.

"They realize that bankers have been upset, and they would like to fix this (bill) as much as we would," said American Bankers Association president William T. McConnell. "But they made no promises."

In the ABA's eyes, the reform bill is being improved by the Senate. But progress in the Senate is jeopardized if the bill goes to a conference committee, a panel of lawmakers appointed to iron out differences between House and Senate bills.

The House declined a conference on credit union legislation this year. It simply approved the Senate version of a bill easing membership limits.

But Mr. McConnell said House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his team "left the impression that the bill will go to conference."

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