WASHINGTON — Creating a federal agency to regulate home loans, credit cards, savings accounts and dozens of other financial services won the approval of a key House committee today despite loud complaints from banks and businesses.

President Barack Obama, who had proposed the new agency to Congress, applauded the 39-29 vote, which fell mostly along party lines. This step "sends an important signal to the American people that we will not stand by and allow big financial firms and their lobbyists to mobilize against change," Obama said.

The committee also approved legislation that would impose new rules for credit cards by Dec. 1, moving up the date from mid-February. Democrats said changing the date was necessary because lenders were using the grace period to hike interest rates.

The proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency is a cornerstone to Obama's broader plan to clamp down on Wall Street and prevent much of the reckless lending that contributed to last year's near-collapse of the market.

But the agency also has been the administration's toughest sell to lawmakers worried that the added regulation would strain neighborhood banks and small businesses.

As business lobbyists pressed lawmakers to scale back the legislation and won several concessions, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other senior administration officials personally appealed to lawmakers not to weaken the bill.

In the end, the bill included numerous exemptions for businesses like auto dealers. All but the biggest banks were spared from routine agency inspections and no businesses were required to offer standard, government-approved financial services, as Obama had wanted.