Senate Panel Targets Dodd-Frank, Housing, TARP

Overseeing implementation of last year's Wall Street reform law will be the top priority of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, according to a memo sent to panel members that was obtained by Reuters on Monday.

Housing finance reform and oversight of the 2008-2009 federal bailouts are the other top items on the to-do list for the committee under its new chairman, Democratic Senator Tim Johnson, said the February 2, long-term agenda memo.

Oversight of the Dodd-Frank reform law will focus on assuring that "the letter and the spirit of the law are being implemented by the regulatory agencies," the memo said.

The committee will also seek to ensure that public comment is being considered; that the new law is being enforced; that legitimate concerns regarding the act are considered; and that "regulators have adequate resources to perform their work and are using the resources efficiently," it said.

One part of Dodd-Frank to be scrutinized by the panel, possibly in public hearings, includes the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with the Federal Reserve.

A study by the new Financial Stability Oversight Council on identifying some large banks and non-bank financial firms as "systemically significant" and subjecting them to stricter regulation was also mentioned as a priority item.

"The committee may wish to examine the FSOC's recommendations, its designation of nonbank financial companies, and the Federal Reserve's implementation of heightened standards," it said.