Deregulating banks—or doing just about anything that suggests coziness with banks—has not exactly been a winning message in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. But ten years later, a bipartisan bank deregulation bill that partly unravels Dodd-Frank is moving through the Senate with the support of every Republican and 17 Democrats.
What started off as an effort to relieve pressure on community banks and credit unions has morphed into a gift to the biggest banks in the country. Quite simply, if the bill passes, banks will get richer. The legislation raises the threshold that triggers increased oversight from the Federal Reserve from $50 billion in assets to $250 billion, freeing more than a dozen banks from stricter rules. It also exempts more banks from the Volcker Rule, which curbs their ability to make speculative bets with their own money, and reduces the amount of capital they need to keep on hand.
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