Why, yes, this is a surprise.
What he is agreeing with is this column from Paul Krugman, which reads in part:
Ever since the current economic crisis began, it has seemed that five words sum up the central principle of United States financial policy: go easy on the bankers.
This principle was on display during the final months of the Bush administration, when a huge lifeline for the banks was made available with few strings attached. It was equally on display in the early months of the Obama administration, when President Obama reneged on his campaign pledge to “change our bankruptcy laws to make it easier for families to stay in their homes.” And the principle is still operating right now, as federal officials press state attorneys general to accept a very modest settlement from banks that engaged in abusive mortgage practices.[...]
[W]hen officials tell you that we must rush to settle with the banks for the sake of the economy, don’t believe them. We should do this right, and hold bankers accountable for their actions.
So now McCain believes that bankers must be held accountable by the government for wrecking the economy, and that essentially the government needs to take the banksters on.
Yes, that is a surprise, considering this letter [pdf], dated May 2, 2011, from Republican Senators to President Obama.
We write to express our concerns about the accountability in the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). As presently organized, far too much power will be vested in the CFPB director without any effective checks and balances. Accordingly, we will not support the consideration of any nominee, regardless of party affiliation, to be the CFPB director until the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is reformed.
The Dodd-Frank Act grants the CFPB director unprecedented authority over financial institutions and main street businesses. The CFPB director will have vast rulemaking, supervisory, investigative and enforcement powers and the authority to regulate any person or business that offers or sells a "financial product or service."[...]
Yes, John McCain's signature is on that letter. Maybe McCain has had a conversion and now believes, along with Krugman, that the government needs a means, precisely like the CFPB, as a bulwark for the people against the power of the banksters. Of course, he signed that nearly three months ago. Maybe he just forgot he put his name on it.