He’s using a scalpel, not a hammer, something critics of the controversial 2010 Dodd-Frank financial overhaul said should have happened with the law’s development.
President-elect Donald Trump said Friday that he’d repeal Dodd-Frank, but his transition team is “tempering expectations,” The Wall Street Journal reports.
“Instead, Mr. Trump’s team is focused on rescinding or scaling back the individual provisions Republicans find most objectionable, such as the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s authority to designate large nonbanks systemically important and thus subject to tougher regulation from the Federal Reserve,” according to the paper.
It notes that Paul Atkins, who served on the Securities and Exchange Commission from 2002 to 2008 and is known for his opposition to heavy regulation, is advising Trump on “how to revamp financial regulation.”
In an interview with the Journal, the president-elect said that financial deregulation would be a priority during his first few weeks in office to allow “banks to lend again.” He said he is eager to focus on the 2010 Dodd-Frank law, which he called “a tremendous burden to the banks.” He said: “We have to get rid of it or make it smaller… Banks are unable to lend. It’s made our country noncompetitive. It’s slowed down growth.”
He added that people who have money haven’t been affected by the increased financial regulations. “I can borrow money,” Mr. Trump said. “The people who are really good but need money to open a business or expand a business can’t borrow money from the banks.”
The comments follow speculation that Trump might stop the DOL’s 401k fiduciary rule before it is fully implemented, something at which his advisors have hinted. Industry watchers, however, have cautioned that any action would compete with other pressing matters in the president-elect’s first year.
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
