The Senate on Wednesday passed a bill sponsored by Sen. Mike Crapo that would roll back some of the regulations put in place by the Dodd-Frank Act following the 2008 financial crisis. The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act, which was passed in a 67-31 bipartisan vote, would provide notable regulatory relief to regional banks by raising the threshold by which bank holding companies are presumptively subject to enhanced prudential standards under Dodd-Frank from $50 billion to $250 billion in total consolidated assets. The bill also includes provisions to lessen the regulatory burden on community banks, such as tailoring mortgage regulations and creating an exemption to the Volcker Rule for small banks, and would add some new consumer protection measures, including an expansion of access to free credit freezes following a data breach. The legislation will now move to the House, where Rep. Jeb Hensarling, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, has indicated a desire to add around 30 measures to the Senate bill, and resolve any differences with the Senate bill through negotiations in the reconciliation process (external link).
