New leadership creates new opportunities. And this Fall, after more than seven years of criticism, Republicans look poised to begin revising some of the financial rules imposed by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank). Sen. Mike Crapo, the new chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, has said that reducing federal financial regulations is his committee’s top priority and that the U.S. Treasury Department’s review of financial rules, a directive from President Trump, gives the issue momentum. His committee is set to confirm nominees who will have the opportunity to implement these changes.
In June, the Treasury Department issued a report, “A Financial System That Creates Economic Opportunities: Banks and Credit Unions,” that serves as the most detailed roadmap yet on how Congress and the federal financial regulators might revisit the post-financial crisis regulatory framework. It is a blueprint primarily for loosening regulation of the U.S. banking sector. The recommendations in the Treasury report represent a wide-ranging rethinking of the rules governing banks and credit unions. If the recommendations were implemented in full or in large part, they would meaningfully reduce costs and other burdens for many institutions. Critics say they would negatively impact the financial system.
