Last week, the United State Senate passed bipartisan legislation designed to substantially amend the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (“Dodd-Frank”). Originally drafted by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) and a number of moderate Democrats, including Senators Jon Tester (D-MT), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and Joe Donnelly (D-IN), the bill provides for lighter regulation of small banks, new exemptions for regional banks and a handful of consumer based protection measures.

The bill began as a public call by the Committee’s chairman for proposals to improve the financial regulatory system, eventually leading to multiple committee hearings and a markup of the legislation last December. The Committee-approved bill included additional consumer protections, such as a provision requiring credit bureaus to provide American consumers with an annual security freeze and unfreeze alert. It also contained separate provisions addressing international insurance regulation, the supplementary leverage ratio, company-run stress tests and online banking, among other items.