Yesterday the U.S. House passed S. 2155, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act. This bipartisan bill had previously passed in the Senate and is now ready to be signed into law by President Trump. The importance of this bill is monumental.
S. 2155 will roll back some of the onerous regulation that resulted from the Dodd-Frank Act, thus allowing banks to focus less on regulatory compliance and more on serving their customers and communities. The bill will right-size rules for financial institutions, lifting much of the regulatory burden that had disproportionately hindered smaller community banks. It will peel away duplicative financial rules that had been preventing banks from lending to creditworthy customers. Specific benefits of S. 2155 include regulatory relief in the areas of Qualified Mortgages, the Volcker Rule, SIFI thresholds and HMDA. Significantly, the bill also retains consumer protections, a major reason for its bipartisan support.
This landmark legislation was backed by the American Bankers Association, Independent Community Bankers of America and state bank trade groups nationwide. Its bipartisan momentum brought together legislators from both sides of the aisle. Nearly every member of Indiana’s congressional delegation voted in support of the legislation: Senators Joe Donnelly and Todd Young; and Representatives Trey Hollingsworth, Jackie Walorski, Jim Banks, Todd Rokita, Susan Brooks, Luke Messer, André Carson and Larry Bucshon. The Indiana Bankers Association extends special thanks to Sen. Donnelly, for his leadership through the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs, and to Rep. Hollingsworth and Rep. Messer, for their support through the House Financial Services Committee.
Mostly, the IBA thanks you, our member bankers. Many times in recent months we have asked you to interrupt your busy schedules to contact your legislators to explain why this legislation is needed, and every time you have risen to the call. You also have traveled to DC with us to meet legislators in person, and have provided moving testimony on how the current regulatory environment often prevents banks from fully serving their customers and communities.
S. 2155 is a major victory for the banking industry, and equally so for consumers. This legislation – the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act – will live up to every portion of its name by growing the economic, providing much-needed reg relief, and protecting consumers. We now await President Trump’s signage of this historic legislation in support of economic vitality for all Americans.
– Amber R. Van Til, IBA President and CEO
Note: Additional details about S. 2155 are available through the American Bankers Association and the Independent Community Bankers of America.