Last Wednesday, the Senate voted 67 to 31 to apply sweeping changes to Dodd Frank.

Since its signing in 2010, there had been concern that Dodd Frank had a negative impact on smaller banks and credit union.  The concern was voiced by Senators on both sides of the aisle.  Some of the rules amended include:

• Banks with less than $250M in assets would no longer be subject to yearly Federal Reserve stress tests or higher capital requirements
• These same smaller banks would be exempt from submitting for federal approval an outline of how the company could be liquidated without causing significant financial meltdowns
• Also exempted are banks that extend fewer than 500 mortgages from having to report home loan data to regulators

The bill now moves on to the House where its future remains uncertain.  In the past, the House has desired to make much more significant changes to Dodd Frank.

For more details on the Senate bill, click here.