President Donald Trump indicated Wednesday that he’s eager to sign a bill that would reform a chunk of the rules framework for banks, installed as a result of the 2008 financial crisis.
The House voted 258-159 on Tuesday to approve legislation rolling back the Dodd-Frank law, notching a legislative win for Trump, who made reforming the law a campaign promise.
The Republican-led legislation, pushed by Wall Street banks as well as regional banks and smaller institutions, garnered 33 votes from House Democrats. Similarly, the bill splintered Democrats into two camps when the Senate voted 67-31 to approve it in March.
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The bill raises the threshold at which banks are deemed so big and plugged into the financial grid that if one were to fail it would cause major havoc. Those banks are subject to stricter capital and planning requirements. Backers of the legislation are intent on loosening the restraints on them, asserting that would boost lending and the economy.
The legislation is aimed at especially helping small and medium-sized banks, including community banks and credit unions.
The Dodd-Frank act, named after its co-authors, Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut and Democratic Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, boosted government oversight of banks.
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U.S. banks’ net income climbed to $56 billion in the January-March quarter, a 27.5 percent increase from a year earlier, as profits were revved up by the corporate tax cuts enacted late last year, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reported Tuesday.
The bill makes a fivefold increase, to $250 billion, in the level of assets at which banks are deemed to pose a potential threat if they fail. The change would ease regulations and oversight on more than two dozen financial institutions, including BB&T Corp., SunTrust Banks, Fifth Third Bancorp and American Express.
Rep. Jeb Hensarling, the Texas Republican who heads the House Financial Services Committee, said Main Street banks “have been suffering for years under the weight” of the Dodd-Frank regulations. “Help is on the way,” Hensarling declared. “Today is an important day in the history of economic opportunity in America.”
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Republican lawmakers, with Hensarling at the forefront, have been chafing at Dodd-Frank’s restrictions in the eight years since its enactment by President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress, and finally prevailed with Tuesday’s vote.
The win on the banking bill adds to Trump’s marquee business-friendly legislative achievement, the sweeping tax bill enacted late last year that deeply cut taxes for corporations and offered reductions for most Americans.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.