Senators Reach Deal to Ease Post-Crisis Rules on Some Banks

A bipartisan group of Senators have agreed to pare back some of the banking regulations enacted after the financial crisis.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) reached an agreement with a group of moderate Democrats on the committee that would move the threshold for stringent regulation by the Federal Reserve up to $250 billion from the current $50 billion, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The Dodd-Frank Act gave the Federal Reserve authority to exercise enhanced oversight over banks with $50 billion or more of assets. Many regulators, even those who generally favor tight regulations, have criticized the threshold as too low.

The deal would end the more stringent regulation for banks with less than $100 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. Banks with between $100 billion and $250 billion would be exempted from the Fed’s enhanced oversight after 18 months or earlier with the Fed’s approval.

Currently, about 40 banks are subject to the enhanced supervisory regulations. The $250 billion threshold would reduce that to about a dozen of the largest banks.