The Trump Banking Law Rolled Back “Too Big to Fail” Rules; Contributed to Conditions for Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank
Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) joined Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), U.S. Representative Katie Porter (D-Calif.) and dozens of other Democratic lawmakers to introduce the Secure Viable Banking Act, legislation that would repeal Title IV of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act of 2018 following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank. Senator Welch vehemently opposed the 2018 deregulation bill and voted to uphold the consumer protections granted under Dodd-Frank.
“The Trump Administration took disastrous steps to deregulate the financial sector, with brutal consequences for families, small businesses, and innovators who put their trust in banks like SVB. This bill restores critical checks on big banks and gives folks greater certainty that their money is safe in U.S. financial institutions. We must pass it and give families the security and peace of mind they need,” said Senator Peter Welch.
“In 2018, I rang the alarm bell about what would happen if Congress rolled back critical Dodd-Frank protections: banks would load up on risk to boost their profits and collapse, threatening our entire economy – and that is precisely what happened,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren. “President Biden called on Congress to strengthen the rules for banks, and I'm proposing legislation to do just that by repealing the core of Trump’s bank law."
“Americans deserve to know their money is safe when they deposit it in the bank,” said Representative Katie Porter. “In 2018, politicians rolled back critical regulations protecting Americans’ deposits—ignoring warnings from financial experts in favor of Wall Street special interests. I’m calling on Congress to restore common-sense guardrails that keep corporate greed in check and restore confidence in our financial system.”
Title IV of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act raised the asset threshold at which a bank is considered and regulated as a “systemically important financial institution” to $250 billion, exempting SVB and other mid-sized banks from regular stress testing and enhanced liquidity, risk management, and resolution plan, or “living will,” requirements.
The lawmakers’ new bill would repeal these dangerous regulatory rollbacks, which invited banks to load up on risk in order to increase profits, restoring critical Dodd-Frank protections.
Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Dwight Evans (D-Pa.), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), John Larson (D-Conn.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Nanette Barragan (D-Calif.), John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), and Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) also signed on to the legislation.
To read the full text of the bill, please click here.
3.16.2023. WASHINGTON – US Senator Peter Welch
