Fed gains greater control (no surprise)

Obama to Unleash Ambitious Reg Reform Plan
"There will be a huge political fight over getting rid of the thrift charter and ILCs (industrial loan companies)," said former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman William Isaac. "I'm not sure why they felt that that was important enough to put in this bill. … The ILCs had nothing to do with the creation of these problems. You can argue about the thrifts, but they both have very strong constituencies."

The Fed would have oversight of all holding companies, including the parents of ILCs and thrifts. Any thrift or ILC would be required to convert to a commercial banking charter within three to five years, according to sources familiar with the administration's plan.

The Office of Thrift Supervision would be eliminated, as expected, but the effort to eliminate the thrift charter is more ambitious than many had predicted. Industry representatives called it a mistake and vowed to oppose it.