Treasury Updates Deregulation Efforts

The U.S. Department of the Treasury recently released an update on its long term efforts to roll back financial regulations. The report comes one year after President Trump issued a series of memos directing the Treasury department to review certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act and reduce burdensome regulation where appropriate.

Soon after the Trump memos, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin issued a report on a number of significant changes to Dodd-Frank and banking regulations. That report closely mirrored the House’s CHOICE Act 2.0, although Secretary Mnuchin stopped short of recommending the elimination of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

The updated Treasury report notes that more than 300 regulations have been eliminated, reduced, or proposed for elimination. As well as the department’s reduction efforts, Treasury had also not put forth any new significant regulatory actions.

Financial regulation is a hot topic in Congress too. Last month a bipartisan coalition in the Senate advanced a bill that would greatly decrease restrictions on small and community banks. Although the House was initially hesitant to consider the Senate’s bill, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R- TX) might be softening his stance and considering the bill soon.