Developments in Securities Regulation, Corporate Governance, Capital Markets, M&A and Other Topics of Interest. MORE

On March 14, 2018, the Senate passed the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act which has been billed as Dodd-Frank reform. Some refer to it as the “Crapo bill”, which is a reference to its sponsor, Republican Michael Crapo from Idaho.

Some characterize the Crapo bill as providing needed regulatory relief for smaller banks while others call it a Wall Street gift.

The future of the bill in the House is uncertain. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) is seeking to include a “bucket of bipartisan bills” in the legislation which previously passed the House.  In a TV interview, Representative Hensarling said:

“We have called on the Senate to negotiate. Otherwise, the bill that the Senate passed – which is sitting on the Speaker’s desk – is going to remain on the Speaker’s desk until and unless the Senate negotiates. We are trying to negotiate in good faith. They have to give us some reason –you know, Maxine Waters voted for roughly half the bills we’re trying to negotiate with the Senate….so somebody needs to explain to me why they can’t accept this legislation.”

Some of the provisions Representative Hensarling is seeking to include are discussed in this Forbes article.

The current debate also indicates the Financial Choice Act is doomed, which was sweeping Dodd-Frank reform legislation previously passed by the House on which the Senate never acted.