President Puts Dodd-Frank Overhaul On Agenda

To say that President Donald Trump has been active during his first weeks in office would likely be a dramatic understatement. Not just the pace of Executive Orders that have been flying out of the Oval Office, but the impact those orders have had, the new president is making his presence felt from the get-go.

Yesterday, to the likely delight of many in the financial services industry, the President said that he plans to “do a big number” on the Dodd-Frank Act, which, among other things, created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Unfortunately, the president was short on actual details for reforming the law, which he called a “disaster.” What parts of Dodd-Frank are likely to be overhauled, or if the entire bill is on the cutting board, remains to be seen. One piece of context that the president did provide was saying that the law made it “virtually impossible” for small and medium-sized businesses to get loans from banks.

The incoming Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, has said that it is likely the CFPB will stay around, in some form or another. Many industry experts expect the leadership structure to be overhauled, changing from a single director to a commission structure, similar to what is in place at other agencies like the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission.