WASHINGTON – The selection of Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) by Sen. Barack Obama as his running mate in the race for the presidency could have implications for credit unions and other financial institutions should Obama defeat Sen. John McCain in the race.
But those implications likely will be in Congress, not the White House, as that body reshuffles committee assignments. Biden currently is chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Should he exit the Senate, it is expected that Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) will slide into the Foreign Relations Committee chair, leaving open the Senate Banking Committee chairmanship Dodd currently holds.
If Dodd takes on the Foreign Relations Committee chairmanship, he would have to surrender his leadership of the banking panel. The Senate’s No. 2 Democrat, Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), most likely would succeed Dodd, and Johnson has significantly different priorities. For example, Dodd has authored a bill to rein in card practices. But Johnson hails from South Dakota, where Citigroup Inc. runs its credit card business, and is seen as much more moderate on the issue, according to analysts.
Neither Biden nor Obama has served on the Senate Banking Committee, meaning little insights into its workings or financial services in general by the ticket. That may not be a negative. Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, told American Banker, an affiliate of Credit Union Journal, "You always want people in power who understand your industry, so it would be good news for banking. On the whole, though, banking is so critical an industry that neither party and no officeholder at the highest levels can afford to alienate it."
