On April 26, 2017, the Financial Services Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing entitled "A Legislative Proposal to Create Hope and Opportunity for Investors, Consumers, and Entrepreneurs." The purpose of the hearing was to examine the discussion draft of the "Financial CHOICE Act of 2017" (or "CHOICE Act 2.0") which was unveiled by Committee Chairman Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) on April 19, 2017. CHOICE Act 2.0 repeals and makes fundamental changes to many components of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. It is anticipated that this draft legislation will set the agenda for consideration of financial regulatory reform initiatives in the current Congress.

The release of the draft of CHOICE Act 2.0 was a significant step towards the enactment of financial regulatory reform. In the coming weeks and months, despite Democratic efforts, we expect more movement on financial regulatory reform and anticipate further debate.