Opponents of bank deregulation suffered several key...

Opponents of bank deregulation suffered several key defeats as the House Banking Committee worked on long-awaited legislation hailed as the most important change in banking law since the Depression. As originally written by the committee chairman, Rep. Fernand J. St Germain (D-R.I.), the far-reaching bill granted bank holding companies some new securities powers but would have prohibited them from underwriting corporate stocks and mutual funds. But by a 35-14 vote, the committee approved an amendment by Rep. Doug Barnard Jr. (D-Ga.) to permit mutual fund underwriting, and by a 27-23 vote, it endorsed an amendment by Rep. Thomas Carper (D-Del.) to allow underwriting of bonds, which are later convertible to stock.