Treasury regulatory overhaul plan "timely": Fed

By Doug Palmer

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Upcoming Treasury Department proposals to make the Federal Reserve the chief regulator of U.S. financial markets and give it sweeping new powers won praise on Saturday from the central bank and the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is expected to unveil a blueprint on Monday for fixing gaps in the U.S. financial market regulatory structure that have been exposed by the ongoing subprime mortgage crisis.

Lax regulation has been widely blamed for permitting a flood of inadequately documented loans to be made during the boom years of a U.S. housing market that has since soured and now threatens to drag the economy into a deep recession.

"The Treasury's report presents a timely and thoughtful analysis and is an important first step in the complex task of modernizing our financial and regulatory architecture. We look forward to working with the Congress and others to help develop a policy framework that will enhance financial and economic stability," a Federal Reserve spokeswoman said.

An executive summary of the Treasury proposals says a "market stability regulator" is needed and the Fed best fits that role, suggesting the central bank could use its control over interest rates as well as its ability to provide market liquidity to fulfill its functions.

STEP BACK AND MODERNIZE

When the current regulatory structure was put into place 75 years ago, "our capital markets were in New York and very few people were invested and the number of products was limited," said David Hirschmann, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness.

The financial world has changed dramatically since then, and over the years there has been a tendency to respond to market crises by adding new layers of regulation, he said.