A Republican plan to dismantle Wall Street regulations

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Tex.), center, speaks to members of the media alongside other lawmakers at the Economic Club of New York in June. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg News)

A Republican plan to dismantle Wall Street regulations would strip the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of many of its powers, including eliminating its consumer complaint database and scaling back its enforcement abilities, according to a five-page memo distributed by Rep. Jeb Hensarling, chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee.

The memo obtained by The Washington Post offers the first peek into Republican plans to ease regulations big banks have been subject to since 2010's Dodd-Frank Act. Sent to other members of the Financial Services Committee on Monday, it outlines changes to legislation Hensarling (R-Tex.) initially proposed last year, known as the Financial Choice Act. That version of the legislation was immediately denounced by advocacy groups; it is now being revised in light of President Trump's call for sweeping changes to the way the financial system is regulated.

The original proposal gave large banks a way to avoid new regulations by holding significantly more capital. It also eliminated the “Volcker Rule,” which prevents banks from using their own money to make risky bets. Those provisions appear to survive in the new version of the legislation, which is slated to be released later this month.

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