In the words of President Donald Trump, the era of “horrible regulations” is coming to an end.
On Tuesday, during a gathering of some of the CEOs of the country’s largest companies hosted by the White House, Trump told the crowd that his administration is working hard to “destroy” many of the regulations holding back the private sector and plans to continue doing so.
“We are absolutely destroying these horrible regulations that have been placed over your heads, not over the last eight years, over the last 20 and 25 years,” Trump told the crowd of approximately 50 CEOS, which included the CEOs of Citigroup, Blackstone, HSBC Bank, the New York Stock Exchange, BNY Mellon, Vornado Realty Trust, and others.
Trump promises CEOs his administration will continue "absolutely destroying" regulations https://t.co/8RzEx7gRth https://t.co/Uw9cUNITFD
— CNN (@CNN) April 4, 2017
Trump specifically referenced the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act as target for regulatory reform, a common refrain of the Trump administration thus far.
On several previous occasions, the Trump administration said that Dodd-Frank is squarely in its crosshairs.
And Tuesday, Trump again said how his administration sees Dodd-Frank as an impediment to the banking business and how he plans to do something about it.
“You have regulations that are horrendous. Dodd-Frank is an example of what we’re working on and we’re working on it right now,” Trump said. “We’re going to be coming out with some very strong…not…far beyond recommendations. We’re going to be doing things that are going to be very good for the banking industry so the banks can lend money to people that need it.”
Trump then laid out his view of the regulatory environment, stating that it’s not the CEOs or the “man that’s making a lot of money” that is actually running the nation’s banks.
Rather, Trump said, it’s the regulators that are really in charge. And that is something Trump is working to change.
“And I’ve always said, and some people get insulted, but you know, it’s not necessarily the man that’s making a lot of money that’s running the bank,” Trump said.
“You look at the folks from government that running all over the banks. They’re running the banks,” Trump continued. “Really, the head people, they’re petrified of the regulators. They’re petrified. They can’t move. The regulators are running the banks.”
Then Trump stated that the administration won’t be pushing for a complete repeal of Dodd-Frank. Instead, Trump said the plans are to cut some of Dodd-Frank and create smarter regulation.
“So we’re going to do a very major haircut on Dodd-Frank,” Trump said. “We want strong restrictions. We want strong regulation, but not regulation that makes it impossible for banks to lend to people that are going to create jobs.”
Trump tells CEOs his administration plans to give the Dodd-Frank law a "very major haircut" https://t.co/8RzEx7gRth https://t.co/gFy4wFJijV
— CNN (@CNN) April 4, 2017