During an interview on CNBC on Friday, Senator Bob Corker discussed President Donald J. Trump’s executive actions on financial regulation and was asked how rolling back Dodd-Frank would help the middle class.
“The guys that are at the Rotary Clubs, and the Kiwanis Clubs, and the Lions Clubs, and the Chambers of Commerce in middle America are not these big banks,” said Senator Corker.
“They are regional and mostly community banks. They’re the ones that are bearing the brunt of this. They have a small asset base in which to spread the tremendous regulatory burden that they have and it is cramping credit… Most of the relief is going to come to community banks. That is going to be great for middle America. That’s where smaller businesses are getting their credit. That’s where most of the jobs in our country are created.”
“I think you’re going to see relief up and down the spectrum,” said Sen. Corker. “Some of it will be done through executive action, as has been mentioned, but a lot of it will be done through legislation. And believe it or not, there is bipartisan support for that to occur, especially for the regional and smaller institutions across our country who have been so hurt."
Asked about Trump’s executive action in regards to the Obama administration’s fiduciary rule, which would have changed the way retirement advisers provide advice to clients, Senator Corker said: “I really do think [the fiduciary rule] was misintended. We have had multiple groups in our office, [and] when you walk through it, it really is not something that helps the smaller investor.”
“Obviously, we absolutely need to ensure that when people – especially representing people that work all day in a plant or on a construction site and they’re putting monies away in a 401(k) or something like that – obviously we need to ensure that the people that are working with those assets are doing so in a fiduciarily responsible manner, but the way this rule was written did not accomplish that. We need to rework it, and I am glad it is being halted at present."