Dodd-Frank

WASHINGTON – Retailers are fighting back against financial industry efforts to repeal a cap on debit interchange fees.

President-elect Donald Trump's choice of well-known Wall Street lawyer Jay Clayton to head the Securities and Exchange Commission was a relatively safe move that suggests his other financial appointments may be equally conservative, industry observers said.

It's no secret that Washington has been upended since the presidential election, with Donald Trump's unexpected victory forcing observers to recast predictions about what will happen in the new year. Following is a guide to what policymakers to watch and who is poised to make the biggest impact in 2017.

The Senate Banking Committee will have six fresh faces in the new Congress as Republicans grapple with a slimmer majority.

The new year is shaping up to be the one in which sizable changes to the Dodd-Frank Act are finally enacted, thanks to Republican victories in the White House, Senate and House.

The industry doesn't want to attack the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau directly, but its push to reform the agency's leadership structure is a backdoor strike at the CFPB's very existence.

Banks' ethical and regulatory missteps have been a source of consternation for regulators and the general public since the 2008 financial crisis. So how can the Trump administration balance accountability with its promises of low regulation and high growth?

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau faces a precarious and uncertain future in 2017 with all eyes focused on two questions: whether President-elect Donald Trump will attempt to fire agency director Richard Cordray and if Congress can successfully restructure the agency by changing its leadership and funding.

With the change in administration and more friendly economic conditions, policymakers should consider greater balance between principles- and rules-based approaches.

The Department of Justice is criticizing an appeals court ruling striking down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's single-director structure, saying the decision overstepped Supreme Court precedent.