Regulatory relief

There's been a legislative bottleneck since the the crisis-era law went into effect, but Congress has moved forward on a handful of significant changes.

Numerous regional banks stand to benefit from a provision that narrows the scope of institutions defined as "systemically important" under the Dodd-Frank Act.

The Senate is poised to pass the most substantial bank regulatory relief since the crisis, but any disruption of the post-crisis regime is still eclipsed by how much the bill enshrines Dodd-Frank.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., filed a motion on the Senate floor Thursday setting up a potential vote next week on the bipartisan regulatory relief package.

The legislation carves out protections for smaller banks to offer abusive loans to borrowers under the "qualified mortgage" standard, as long as they hold those loans in portfolio.

Democrats used a hearing with Fed Chair Jerome Powell to lay the groundwork for an intraparty debate over the merits of the Senate’s regulatory relief bill.

The interim head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said the agency may allow prudential regulators to take the lead on more supervisory matters to cut down on duplication.

“Why we think we know better or how to protect consumers in your state surprises me,” acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney told a group of state attorneys general. “I don’t think we’ll being do much of that anymore.”

Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo said he is hopeful that a bipartisan deal to roll back certain Dodd-Frank Act regulations will soon have a vote on the Senate floor.

Acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney dismissed concerns by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., about his leadership of the consumer agency while supporting a lighter regulatory touch for credit unions.