Politics

Trump to call for reviews of financial regulations borne out of the 2008 crisis

Trump expected to scale back Dodd-Frank
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Trump expected to scale back Dodd-Frank

President Donald Trump on Friday will take two financial-related actions, including one to explore ways to fix "overarching" banking rules put into effect after the 2008 crisis, according to a senior White House official.

Trump will sign an executive order directing the Treasury Department and other regulators to review actions taken by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform law, including the Volcker Rule, the Trump official said.

The Volcker Rule, originally proposed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, restricts U.S. banks, or an institution that owns a bank, from making certain kinds of speculative investments with their own money that could hurt their customers.

The White House official also mentioned as part of the executive order an examination of issues dealing with financial institutions that are deemed "too big to fail," taxpayer bailouts, and the role of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in the housing market.

"Everything is going to be looked at," said the senior official, when asked specifically about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. That agency was put in place to shield consumers from deceptive business practices.

While the administration believes Dodd-Frank "in many respects was a piece of massive government overreach," the official added, "this is not an attempt to undo Dodd Frank."

"There are quite a few things that we could do on Dodd-Frank ... that we think will have fairly immediate and dramatic impact," the official said, including personnel changes at regulatory agencies and additional executive orders.

Trump plans to meet on Friday with leading CEOs, including many financial chiefs such as JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon, Blackstone's Steve Schwarzman, and BlackRock's Larry Fink.

Earlier this week, during another meeting with business owners, Trump described Dodd-Frank as "a disaster."


Trump to sign memo on 'fiduciary rule'

In the second action, in the form of a presidential memo, Trump will direct the Labor Department to delay implementation for the next 90 days and conduct a review on a rule designed to prevent conflicts of interest when financial advisors give retirement advice, the senior White House official said.

The so-called "fiduciary rule," set to go into effect this spring, said asset managers of retirement accounts must act in the best interests of their clients.

Faced with questions about why the administration would roll back a consumer protection, the Trump official said existing regulations already protect consumers.

The White House believes the fiduciary rule "was a complete miss," the official said, adding it has "unintended consequences," including not giving consumers enough choices.

The retirement advice rule, issued by the administration of Barack Obama, has been staunchly opposed by the financial services industry.

The Labor Department had estimated the rule could cost firms as much as $31 billion over the next decade to comply.

Trump's memo will ask the Labor Department to determine whether the rule should be revised or whether it should be scrapped altogether, the official said.

— CNBC's Eamon Javers and Reuters contributed to this report.

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