Regulators update Congress on financial overhaul

“Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and other regulators gave Congress an update Thursday on their efforts to implement the biggest overhaul of the nation’s financial rules since the Great Depression. Bernanke also acknowledged that some small banks could be hurt if regulators allow them to charge more than big banks for processing debt card transactions. The higher fees, paid by retailers each time Americans swipe their cards, could make debit cards issued by smaller banks less attractive to merchants. ‘There’s good reason to be concerned about it,’ Bernanke said. It could result in some smaller banks ‘being less profitable or even failing,’ he said.”