Senate panel to hold hearing on Obama bank limits

She said Chairman Christopher Dodd will call the hearing, but did not provide details on the timing or the witnesses.

Obama laid out bold new curbs on banks' proprietary trading operations, other risky activities, and on financial firms' overall size on Thursday. The announcement come months after the administration's original sweeping legislative reform package.

Richard Shelby, the leading Republican on the committee said earlier on Friday that hearings were needed to explore the merits of the president's proposals to limit banks' risk taking.

Shelby joined with nine other members of the committee to call on Dodd to convene the hearings.

"If the Obama Administration believes this plan should be included in the financial regulatory reform package, Chairman Dodd should hold a series of hearings so the Banking Committee can determine whether the proposal has merit," Shelby said in a statement.

Shelby also said Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner "should be afforded an opportunity to explain his previously expressed concerns with the plan."