With the White House desiring the creation of a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency to manage an extensive range of financial products, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke are apparently at variance with regard to the proposed move.

While the proposal would essentially take away part of the present authority, of the Federal Reserve and other banking regulators, for policing the financial products; it has been designed to protect Americans from a number of high-cost and risky financial products.

Putting forth his stand before the House Financial Services Committee, Geithner cited the role of the housing and credit markets' collapse in triggering the recession. He added that opposition to the proposed changes would likely stems from the defense of the "traditional prerogatives of regulatory agencies."

Meanwhile, Bernanke argued before the Committee that the Fed should continue to keep hold of its current consumer protection powers concerning consumer products. He said that the proposed change would mitigate the benefits of the Fed's consolidated resources for ensuring the safety and soundness of banks.

While Bernanke sought the Fed's power over financial markets, saying that there should be more "accountability" in bank regulation; Geithner reiterated that the regulatory structure needs repair, saying there are "a lot of examples of practices that we should not have tolerated" under the "dumb regulation in our country."