House advances bill to require regulators to tailor financial regulations

The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation designed to ease some of the one-size-fits-all regulations for banks and credit unions.

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The House voted 247-169 this week to pass the Taking Account of Institutions with Low Operation Risk (TAILOR) Act of 2017 (H.R. 1116), sponsored by Rep. Scott Tipton (R-CO). The legislation requires federal regulatory agencies to tailor regulations to fit the business model and risk profile of institutions. This means they must consider additional factors such as an institution’s risk profile, unintended potential impacts of implementation of such regulations, and the policy objectives that led to the regulation.

“As our small banks and credit unions go, so goes the American dream. At a bare minimum, let’s tailor the rules and regulations to the size and complexity of the institution so our credit unions, so our banks can thrive and thus our constituents can thrive and meet their economic goals and responsibilities,” Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said.

A similar provision was also included in Hensarling’s bill, the Financial CHOICE Act (H.R. 10), which passed the House in June 2017.

Hensarling added that this bill will better enable banks and credit unions to provide products and services to consumers while promoting competition.