Regulation

Democrats may not be able to score many legislative wins in this Congress, but they appear set on slowing the process down to a snail's pace, particularly when it comes to financial appointments and rollback of the Dodd-Frank Act.

The Federal Reserve’s regular opinion survey of senior bank loan officers suggests that lenders expect to ease lending standards for commercial and industrial loans in 2017, while also expecting to have to tighten lending standards for commercial real estate and auto loans this year.

Easing regs without mulling the consequences could hurt the financial system, but a fintech charter and other careful reforms could promote innovation, Patrick Harker said.

At the very least, President Trump's executive order on Dodd-Frank is liable to make it tougher to reach compromise on regulatory reform. In the long run, it's helping to push Democrats further to the left.

The new president should establish a pro-innovation culture that avoids picking winners and losers and blocks regulations that unduly hamper innovation.

The chairman of the House Financial Services Committee is preparing a new financial reform law; change could free up $100 billion in bank capital that could be returned to shareholders.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and our social media platforms.

The Trump administration released an executive order Friday calling for a review of the Dodd-Frank Act, but the immediate questions about the order focused on what authority the White House has to enact real change.

The Federal Reserve published the hypothetical stress scenarios it will use as part of the 2017 stress test cycle.

President Trump is scheduled Friday to order a review of Dodd-Frank and a halt to the Obama fiduciary rule. A signing ceremony is set for noon following a meeting of more than a dozen top corporate executives.