This story appeared in Bank Digest.
The Senate has passed the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (S. 2155), which would modify provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act and related laws governing financial services, by a vote of 67 to 31. In prepared remarks made on the Senate floor, Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said S. 2155 "weakens stress tests for all large banks" and "opens the door to weaker oversight of foreign megabanks operating in the U.S.," among other problems he saw with the bill. In a separate statement released after the bill was passed, he said that in passing the bill, the Senate had "rolled back accountability measures for some of the biggest domestic and foreign banks at the expense of taxpayers."
Similarly, House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-Calif) issued a statement saying the bill "takes our financial system in the wrong direction, and serves as a giveaway to banks that are already posting record profits." And House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) said the Senate had taken "a giant leap backward towards the freewheeling days of the financial crisis."
But Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin issued a statement saying the Senate had taken "an important step today toward achieving common sense financial regulation" and that the bill would "safeguard American consumers through proper and effective oversight."