Experts are giving mixed reviews to the Obama administration's sweeping proposal for regulating the financial system, saying it smacks of a political compromise over how much authority to give the Federal Reserve.

The proposal, which will be unveiled Wednesday afternoon and already has been outlined in an administration white paper, portends a major overhaul of the Fed's responsibilities, by giving the central bank authority to oversee "systemically risky" financial institutions whose collapse would threaten the broader economy. These banks and financial houses will be subject to tougher federal oversight and tougher capital requirements, and the Fed would have the power to dissolve them in the event of their failure.

However, the administration plan would limit the Fed's emergency-lending authority, by forcing it to first seek approval from the Treasury Department. And a new agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, will assume some of the Fed's traditional responsibilities overseeing products like mortgages and credit cards.

Much of the proposal has to be approved by Congress, which, no doubt, will alter key provisions.