President Donald Trump signed a major Dodd-Frank rollback into law Thursday, hoping to bring regulatory relief to community banks across the U.S.
On Tuesday afternoon, the House of Representatives passed S. 2155, also known as the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act. The bill rolls back some aspects of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.
“Dodd-Frank’s costly regulations gave large banks a negative advantage at the cost of small banks throughout the country,” Trump said at the signing.
The president explained Dodd-Frank made it impossible to open up new businesses. But now, the new law will “liberate small banks.”
Today, @POTUS signed the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief & Consumer Protection Act into law. This rolls back #DoddFrank, delivering much-needed relief for hard-working Americans & small businesses. Thanks @MikeCrapo & @RepHensarling for your hard work on this important issue.
— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) May 24, 2018
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Acting Director Mick Mulvaney also voiced his support for the bill, saying it will improve consumers’ access to credit and reduce regulatory burdens.
“As Acting Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, I am pleased to see the long-overdue reforms to the regulations governing mortgage lending,” Mulvaney said. “These changes will allow community banks and credit unions to focus on making prudent loans to prospective homebuyers without being tied up in expensive and excessive red tape.”
“I stand ready to work with Congress and the rest of the Administration to implement these new reforms that will promote a brighter, more prosperous future,” he said.
The bill cleared the Senate in March and was sent back to the House for approval.
The bill, which aims to ease regulations on small banks, was sponsored by Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, with nearly 20 bipartisan co-sponsors, and was introduced in the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.
“NAFCU and our members again appreciate all House and Senate lawmakers who worked on this bill and pushed it through to final passage – especially Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling,” said Dan Berger, National Association of Federally Insured Credit Unions president and CEO.
“We appreciate President Trump signing the bill, as we can now look towards the future and continue to work with Congress on further regulatory relief measures to ensure robust growth of the credit union industry,” Berger said.
And other members of the housing industry joined in their excitement for the law’s passage.
“We applaud the President for signing the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act today,” NewDay USA Executive Chairman Thomas Lynch said. “This new law will help protect my fellow veterans, active duty military and their families as they access the VA home loan benefits they have earned.”
“It helps provide better access to their benefits, but most importantly, it goes a long way in defending them from predatory lenders who are not working in the best interest of the veteran,” Lynch said.
But while the new law is bipartisan and holds significant support from the housing industry, it does still have its critics. Read more about the debate, here.
