At the end of December, I listed ten predictions for 2017.
Prediction number four stated the following: “The Dodd-Frank book will be closed for new regulations, but will not be open for revisions. Do not expect the law to be repealed.”
On Friday, February 3rd, President Trump signed an executive order to overhaul certain aspects of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act of 2010.
As expected, no additional pages will be added to the already existing 24,000+ pages of regulations.
While specifics need to be defined and worked out, early indications are that changes impacting public entities and Higher Ed institutions will be nominal. The ones most affected by any changes will be the banks public entities deal with.
In my opinion, the regional banks that serve these sectors should benefit the most with the elimination of the capital stress test for banks with asset levels under $250 billion. This will result in lowering significant overhead and capital-related costs.
In addition, I do not expect there to be any changes in banks’ deposit level requirements since they were established under the international guidelines of Basel III.
It is also hoped that the overreaching government regulations and compliance requirements that have saddled banks—of all sizes—over the last several years will be eased.
I think that most of the Dodd-Frank redesign will be centered on the larger banks’ proprietary trading practices as well as the oversight of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CFPB has exploded both in bureaucracy and overreach, while showing little success in serving and protecting the public’s best interest.
As mentioned over the last several years, the landscape of banking is changing. I’m pleased to say it’s now for the better. I do think it will be in everyone’s best interest if banks have the ability to focus their resources on their clients rather than on the regulators.
Finally, the pendulum is starting to find a level of equilibrium—and that should be better for everyone.
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