The days appear to be numbered for the Dodd-Frank Act, the sprawling legislation designed to address holes in regulation that led to the financial crisis. But what will replace it?
President-elect Trump has pledged his team will be working to replace Dodd-Frank with new policies to encourage economic growth and job creation. An existing bill provides a blueprint for what financial regulation under President Trump might look like.
In September, the House Financial Services Committee passed the Financial Choice Act, the purpose of which is to replace the Dodd-Frank act. At that time the bill was not expected to be enacted into law. While Trump has not endorsed the bill, it is possible he will use it as a guide as he works to make good on his campaign promises.
The Dodd-Frank act was remarkable in its breadth, and the Financial Choice Act is not timid in its rollback. The landscape will again change significantly if the Financial Choice Act were to become law.
The Financial Choice Act would rein in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, placing it under the supervision of a five-member commission and subjecting its budget to the congressional appropriation process. The Financial Choice Act would largely repeal the CFPB's authority to regulate "abusive" practices.
A central tenet of the Dodd-Frank act aimed at ending the "too-big-to-fail" syndrome, is the ability to provide enhanced supervision and regulation of institutions found to be "systematically important." The Financial Choice Act would end that regulation and designation. As a partial replacement, the Financial Choice Act provides for a new chapter of the bankruptcy code for insolvent financial institutions.
To promote more financially sound banking institutions, the Financial Choice Act encourages banks to have stronger capital bases to absorb losses, and provides for what is sometimes described as an "off ramp" from regulation. The off ramp provides that banks with favorable examination histories could choose to maintain a 10 percent leverage ratio as sufficient capital.
As a trade-off, such banks would be exempt from complex risk-weighted capital ratios, liquidity requirements, certain restrictions on mergers, acquisitions and other matters.