Senate Compromise on Regulatory Relief Legislation Moves Forward

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and a bipartisan group of cosponsors introduced a regulatory relief package this week that could ease certain Dodd-Frank Act restrictions on banks, a compromise praised by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Crapo released a summary of the legislation but has not released specific language. Among other things, the legislation would increase the additional scrutiny threshold set by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act from banks with $50 billion in assets to banks with $250 billion or more in assets. The Wall Street Journal reported this provision would cut the number of banks subject to heightened Federal Reserve oversight from 38 to 12.

Mortgage Bankers Association President and CEO David Stevens, CMB, commended Crapo, eight other Republican and nine Democratic senators for reaching the bipartisan compromise on the regulatory relief legislation designed to lessen some burdens on lenders to allow them to better serve their customers and consumers.

“In particular, MBA is glad to see the inclusion of language amending the SAFE Act to provide increased job mobility for loan originators, as well as language to address concerns with PACE lending, HMDA and the TILA/RESPA integrated disclosure,” Stevens said. “We look forward to continuing to work with the committee on other provisions in the bill, such as expanding the language regarding Qualified Mortgages held in portfolio.”

Democratic Senate Banking Committee members who supported the agreement included Sens. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., Jon Tester, D-Mon. and Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D. Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, did not indicate support for the legislation.