WASHINGTON, March 31, 2008 (AFP) - Here are the main points of US President George W. Bush's broad plan to overhaul financial market regulation, unveiled by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Monday:

-- modernize the president's working group on financial markets, to include issues related to the financial sector such as consumer and investor protection and systemic risks.

-- create a new federal commission for mortgage origination 'to protect consumers better' that would be responsible for setting standards for and supervising participants in the home loan process in the 50 states.

-- boost the Federal Reserve's authority to obtain certain information from investment banks that have obtained access to Fed loans.

-- merge the Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates companies with publicly traded shares, and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, which oversees commodities trading.

-- eliminate the Office of Thrift Supervision, a government body responsible for supervising loans and deposits at thrift institutions.

-- increase the Fed's powers to oversee the financial services sector, including giving the central bank 'primary oversight responsibilites' for payment and settlement systems.

-- create an 'optional' federal charter for oversight of the insurance sector, which currently resides mainly at the state level.

-- create 'an entirely new regulatory structure' that would combine several agencies to eliminate redundancies and fill gaps in the current system. The structure will include a market stability regulator and a business conduct regulator with a focus on consumer protection.

-- increase significantly the Fed's powers over the financial system, including investment banks, insurance companies and hedge funds. The central bank would be authorized to conduct investigations and impose penalties 'when necessary to ensure overall financial market stability.'