Two months after making it through the Senate, legislation to roll back or reduce some of the requirements of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act has passed the House.
The Senate passed S. 2155, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, in March by an overwhelming majority.
On Tuesday, by a vote of 258 to 159, the House passed the bill —
which was opposed by several dozens advocacy groups because of concessions to credit reporting firms.
But the bill had plenty of supporters, including outgoing Mortgage Bankers Association President and Chief Executive Officer David H. Stevens, who commended the House for passing the bill.
“Specifically, this legislation includes: SAFE Act amendments which provide mortgage loan originators with 120 days of transitional authority to originate when moving from a federal depository to a non-bank (or across state lines), subjecting Property Assessed Clean Lending or property retrofit loans to Truth In Lending Act consumer protections, critical consumer protections to U.S. veterans who use the VA Home Loan program, clarifying the High Volatility Commercial Real Estate rule to help promote sustainable construction and development, and targeted TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure fixes,”
Stevens said.
Rob Nichols, the president and CEO of the American Bankers Association, was happy to weigh in on the House’s vote.
“For the first time in nearly a decade, lawmakers from both parties have chosen to right-size financial rules that were not working as intended and holding the economy back,” Nichols said in an announcement. “There is certainly more to do to recalibrate regulations and tailor them based on a bank’s risk profile and business model, but the common-sense changes included in S.2155 will help America’s banks, particularly community banks, get back to the basics of lending to creditworthy borrowers and businesses.”
The Independent Community Bankers Association wrote letters to House members Monday in support of the legislation. The group’s
president and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey stated in the letter that a vote against the bill would be a vote against community banks and a vote for more concentration.
National Association of Federally Insured Credit Unions President and CEO B. Dan Berger wrote a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to sign the legislation — which is expected to provide relief to credit unions.
Conference of State Bank Supervisors President and CEO John Ryan said in a written statement that the legislation will allow community banks to focus on customers and local communities.
S 2155 is headed to the desk of President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it into law.
