House votes next Tuesday on bill easing post-crisis bank rules: sources

[May 16, 2018]  By Pete Schroeder

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives will vote next Tuesday on a bill that would relax regulations introduced after the 2007-2009 financial crisis, two congressional sources said.

The bill is expected to be approved by the Republican-majority House, clearing the way for President Donald Trump to sign the measure into law.

The bill's enactment would mark the first time policymakers have agreed to ease rules on banks since the 2010 passage of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, and hand Trump another victory in his effort to slash rules on the private sector.

The Senate approved the measure in March, where it garnered support from Republicans and moderate Democrats. But the measured stalled briefly in the House, where Republican leaders sought additions to further ease rules on banks.

House Republican leaders agreed to move on the bill after the Senate said it would separately consider additional legislation to make it easier for companies to raise capital, according to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

Among its provisions, the bill would raise the threshold at which banks are considered systemically risky and subject to stricter oversight to $250 billion from $50 billion. It also exempts banks with less than $10 billion in assets from rules banning proprietary trading, as well as exempts smaller banks from several other post-crisis rules.

People walk by the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, U.S., February 8, 2018. REUTERS/ Leah Millis

Proponents of the bill argue it eases rules for smaller banks that were not central to the last crisis, freeing them up to offer additional loans. But critics, including most congressional Democrats, oppose easing any rules on banks, warning it increases the risks of future bank failures.

(Reporting by Pete Schroeder and Richard Cowan; editing by Grant McCool)

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