FACTBOX: Keys to House panel's "too big to fail" bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House Financial Services Committee on Thursday delayed a final vote on a bill addressing systemic risk in the economy and what to do about financial firms viewed as "too big to fail."

The bill is expected to face a final vote by the committee next month, likely on December 1, with a vote in the full House coming possibly two weeks later.

Here are the central elements of the legislation.

OVERSIGHT COUNCIL

* Creates inter-agency Financial Services Oversight Council, with a staff and funding, that would monitor and intervene to prevent systemic risks in the economy

* Financial firms threatening economic stability could be hit with heightened regulatory standards by council.

* Council decisions of this sort would be publicly disclosed. Firms could appeal those decisions.

* Firms that still pose a "grave threat" to stability, even under higher standards, could be forced to break up. Council could order firms to end activities, stop offering some products, or divest units. Firms could appeal council actions.

* When deciding on such actions, council would evaluate firms' size, liabilities, leverage, off-balance sheet exposure and interconnectedness with other firms.

* Council members: Treasury Secretary, Federal Reserve chairman, Comptroller of the Currency, Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, Commodity Futures Trading Commission chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp chairman, Federal Housing Finance Agency director, National Credit Union Administration chairman, Office Thrift Supervision director

* Firms subjected to stricter standards or found to be under-capitalized would have to file "living wills" with regulators saying how firms could be unwound in emergencies.

FDIC

* Empowers FDIC to extend credit or guarantee obligations of solvent financial firms to preserve economic stability

* Empowers FDIC to unwind insolvent financial firms in orderly manner, like it now can unwind failing banks

* FDIC's process for unwinding firms would ensure shareholders and creditors bear losses, not taxpayers.

* Sets up "systemic dissolution fund" of $150 billion, to pay for FDIC actions. Another $50 billion could be raised.

* Dissolution fund would get money through fees charged to financial firms with more than $50 billion in assets.

* Fees would be adjusted based on firms' risk and size. FDIC could also borrow money from Treasury.

* FDIC dissolution authority would end on December 31, 2013, unless extended by president and Congress.

* Dissolution fund would have to be managed separately from the FDIC's existing Deposit Insurance Fund.

* Assessments paid by banks into FDIC's Deposit Insurance Fund would be risk-based, cutting fees paid by small banks.

SECURITIZATION

* Requires lenders to retain 10 percent of credit risk from loans securitized for sale onto secondary market

BANK SUPERVISION

* Abolishes Office of Thrift Supervision, transfers its duties to Comptroller of the Currency's office

(Reporting by Kevin Drawbaugh; Editing by Gary Hill)