Dodd hints Banking committee may revisit Wall St. bill's derivatives rules

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) hinted Wednesday that his committee would revisit new rules for derivatives markets passed today by a separate Senate panel.

Dodd, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said he hadn't seen the specifics of a proposal that Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) passed out of her Agriculture Committee this morning in a 13-8 vote.

But reports have indicated that the White House would like to walk back some of Lincoln's strong language, which would force more disclosure on derivatives, and force firms to spin off their divisions which trade in the instruments.

"The Banking Committee has a major major responsibility on derivatives," Dodd said during an appearance on MSNBC, adding that he's been talking to members of his committee to gauge opinion on Lincoln's measure.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geither praised Lincoln's derivatives language as a "step" toward the final legislation, but suggested that work still remained on this particular section of the Wall Street reform bill.

"We will continue to work with Chairman Dodd, Chairman Lincoln, and Senate leadership to craft strong derivatives provisions that close loopholes, provide necessary transparency, and reduce threats to financial stability as part of a final, comprehensive financial reform bill," Geithner said in a statement.

Lincoln's proposal earned one Republican vote on Wednesday. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) joined the Agriculture committee's Democrats to advance the derivatives bill. 

Cross-posted to the Briefing Room.