The American Banker features two "insider perspectives" on the regulatory approach of Presidential candidates Obama and McCain:

Obama on Regulation
According to Daniel Tarullo, economic adviser to Obama

• The presumptive Democratic nominee backs a detailed list of programs
  aimed at protecting consumers and clamping down on lending practices,
  from an interest rate cap on high-cost loans to a foreclosure
  prevention fund paid for by lenders.
• Sen. Obama's $10 billion foreclosure prevention fund, designed to help
  troubled borrowers sell their home or restructure an unaffordable loan,
  would be funded by penalties on lenders who commit fraud. He envisions
  new disclosures that would help borrowers compare mortgage products,
  and he would confront mortgage fraud by beefing up reporting,
  increasing funding for enforcement, and raising fines.
• Prof. Tarullo said financial institutions should not fear an Obama
  presidency, since the candidate would consider the trade-offs involved
  in any policy choice. Bankers "may or may not agree with a position" taken by Sen. Obama,
  "but they can be assured that he will have an understanding of the
  costs and benefits of any particular approach," the adviser said.
• Sen. Obama also would create a public-private commission of experts to
  warn Congress and the White House about emerging systemic risks in the
  markets.
• Prof. Tarullo also discussed what Sen. Obama has not said; to ensure
  credit does not dry up, the candidate has been careful to advocate a
  moderate approach to imposing higher capital standards on nonbanks.
• "The fact that he focused" on regulatory reform and "talked about
  things that one normally doesn't see presidential candidates talk about
  reflects his commitment toward change" in the regulatory system, the
  adviser said. "I frequently find, and not just with bankers but with
  people in industry generally, that one of their biggest concerns is
  that the position they're in in the markets is not understood by
  regulators or political figures or others. As I have learned with Sen.
  Obama … he is both an incredibly voracious consumer of information
  about all things, including the economy, and a very quick study."

McCain on Regulation
According to Douglas Holtz-Eakin chief economic adviser to McCain

• Sen. McCain believes it is important to wait until the credit turmoil
  is better understood before committing government resources…Whether as a result of caution or a focus on other issues, Sen.
  McCain's financial services platform is less detailed than that of Obama
• The candidate has said he would like to create a Justice Department
  task force to investigate potential mortgage abuses and help state
  attorneys general in their investigations of lending practices.
• McCain also would expand the government's ability to guarantee
  student loans, because the credit crunch has reduced such financing.
• According to Mr. Holtz-Eakin, the candidate opposes government programs
  to help consumers trying to buy homes out of foreclosure — programs
  generally seen as a tool for affordable housing and for avoiding a
  buildup of vacant properties — because they could wind up encouraging
  foreclosures.

Read more (subscription required for American Banker):

Obama and Regulation, an Insider's Perspective
Foreclosure fund, bankruptcy reform among his proposals
American Banker
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
By Joe Adler

McCain and Regulation, An Insider's Perspective
Eyes mortgage-abuse task force, FHA role; a go-slow approach
American Banker
Thursday, June 5, 2008
By Joe Adler