Consumer Agency to Seek an Expansive Role

A new consumer-protection agency pushed by President Obama would have wide powers to regulate financial products used by millions of Americans, potentially spanning mortgages, credit cards, annuities and even basic bank accounts.

The consumer agency is just one piece of a broader effort to overhaul supervision of financial markets that Mr. Obama will announce on Wednesday, which some have said could bring the biggest changes to market rules since the 1930s.

The administration's plan to create a new consumer-protection agency could attract the most attention because it touches virtually all consumers...

WSJ: Consumer Agency to Seek an Expansive Role