Trump Sticks To His Guns On Shaving Dodd-Frank Act

Josh O'Neill

6 April 2017

President Donald Trump earlier this week reiterated his vows to roll back elements of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, which was enacted in response to the financial crisis to act as a safety net in the event of economic meltdown.

Trump said on Tuesday that his administration was working on reforms to the regulations designed to make it easier for banks to loan money.

“We're going to be coming out with some very strong – far beyond recommendations – we're going to be doing things that are going to be very good for the banking industry so that the banks can loan money to people who need it,” Trump reportedly said during a meeting with business leaders.

“We're going to do a very major haircut on Dodd-Frank. We want strong restrictions, we want regulation. But not regulation that makes it impossible for the banks to loan to people that are going to create jobs,” he reportedly said.

But the road to regulatory relief remains obstructed by other issues that US lawmakers are grappling with, such as healthcare policies and tax, and overhauls of the act are unlikely to occur before summer, according to senior Republican Patrick McHenry.

President Trump's remarks were echoed by JP Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon, who in his annual letter to shareholders said the current regulatory environment is “unnecessarily complex, costly and sometimes confusing”.

Dimon said the US regulatory regime, and certain aspects of Dodd-Frank, hindered economic growth and “hurt the average American”.

He said he was not looking to throw out the entirety of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, but argued it was “appropriate to open up the rulebook in the light of day and rework the rules and regulations that don't work well or are necessary”.