Consumerism's Impact on Deregulation Will Be Evident in '85, Fed Official Says; Symposium Forecasts Effects on Legislative and Regulatory Actions

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WASHINGTON -- Consumerism is alive and well on the deregulatory scene, and its power will be evident in legislative and regulatory action this year, according to Griffith L. Garwood, director of the Federal Reserve's Division of Consumer and Community Affairs.

The American Bankers Association, in a recent closed-circuit broadcast, televised to 34 sites the first of what it hopes will be the annual Bank Compliance Symposium. It presented a fast-paced overview of what institutions must watch out for the comply with consumer-protection laws and regulations now in effect.

The symposium was held in Chicago.

One bank-compliance officer watching the broadcast here, overwhelmed by the torrent of fact and legal lingo pouring from the giant video screen, commented: "The best thing about this is that there's an outline, so I can look things up" in a distributed reference packet.

A cursory scan of audience evaluation reports, however, showed that those who attended gave the symposium's panelists very high marks.

Mr. Garwood noted that surveys "surprisingly have found that consumers say they are …