Factbox: Here are rules liberals think they could reverse under Biden
presidency
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[September 21, 2020]
By Pete Schroeder and Katanga Johnson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Influential liberal
think tanks are starting to identify Wall Street-friendly rule changes
made by the Trump administration that could be scrapped using the
Congressional Review Act if presidential candidate Joe Biden wins the
White House and Democrats retake the Senate on Nov. 3.
Here are some likely candidates.
COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT ACT OVERHAUL
In May, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency updated the
Community Reinvestment Act, a 1977 fair-lending law that encourages
banks to invest in low-income communities, to account for technological
changes in the way banks do business.
Democrats slammed the changes, which they said would make it easier for
banks to earn passing grades while doing less.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2020/Sep/21/images/ads/current/graue_sda_2016.png)
VOLCKER RULE 'COVERED FUND' CHANGES
In June, bank regulators loosened a "Volcker Rule" provision on bank
investments to make it easier for large lenders to take stakes in
venture capital funds and other vehicles. Banks said this "covered
funds" provision was far too aggressive, often sucking in overseas firms
with little to no U.S. presence.
Created after the 2009 financial crisis, the Volcker Rule is seen as a
sacred safety and soundness tool by Democrats who say the changes could
reopen the door to casino banking.
'INTER-AFFILATE,' OTHER SWAP RULES
The "inter-affiliate" rule change was one of the biggest victories for
Wall Street banks under the Trump administration. After years of
lobbying, banks convinced regulators to kill the post-2009 crisis
requirement for big banks to hold capital against swap trades between
units of the same bank holding company. Finalized in June, the change
was due to free roughly $40 billion for big banks, according to industry
estimates.
Other swap rules potentially on the chopping block include a July
decision by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to relax swap
hedging safeguards and swap capital cushion calculations.
Regulators say the changes aim to reduce overlapping or burdensome
requirements. Critics say they increase risks in the swap market, which
exacerbated the 2009 crisis.
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![](../images/092120PIX/news_n27.jpg)
Democratic U.S. presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe
Biden delivers remarks regarding the Supreme Court at the National
Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., September
20, 2020. REUTERS/Mark Makela
![](../images/ads/current/fitzpatrick_lda_SPONSOR_2017.png)
SHAREHOLDER VOTING, DISCLOSURES
In July, the Securities and Exchange Commission placed new
restrictions on companies that advise investors on how to vote in
corporate elections after years of gripes from the business
community that these advisors have too much power and too little
oversight. Critics of the changes say they make it harder for
investors to push corporations on social and environmental issues.
In May, the SEC also reduced corporate disclosure requirements
around acquisitions and divestments to mitigate the burden for
companies, but critics said the move would reduce transparency for
investors .
'VALID WHEN MADE'
The Trump administration's July rule clarifies that a loan's
original terms remain valid if it is transferred to a state with
stricter lending rules. It was adopted to settle a court fight over
whether a borrower could sue to challenge a loan that had been sold
to a state that would never have allowed it in the first place.
Regulators said it provided much-needed clarity, but its opponents
said it pre-empts state consumer protection laws and will boost
predatory lending.
PAYDAY LENDING
In July, Trump's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rolled
back a contentious Obama-era rule, which aimed to crackdown on
payday lenders by requiring them to establish that a borrower had
the means to repay.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2020/Sep/21/images/ads/current/charrons_bch041713.png)
The industry fought the proposal, and the Trump administration
stripped out the "ability-to-repay" provision. Democratic
presidential nominee Joe Biden said at the time that the decision
was “a windfall to predatory lenders."
(Reporting by Pete Schroeder; Additional reporting by Katanga
Johnson; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
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