The US House of Representatives has approved sweeping changes to the country's financial sector since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The Bill aims to create a new agency to monitor consumer banking transactions and give the government powers to break up companies that threaten the economy. The vote is a victory for President Obama who has made financial reform one of his main goals. The US Senate will have to pass the bill before the President can sign it.The legislation will give regulators the power to dismantle the companies in a way which ensures shareholders and unsecured creditors, not taxpayers, bear the losses. It also hopes to strengthen the powers of the Securities and Exchange Commission to detect irregularities that could provide an early warning of fraudulent investment schemes. President Obama has welcomed the outcome of the vote. He called on the Senate to pass the legislation as quickly as possible.