The U.S. House plans to vote next week on a measure that would undo a Dodd-Frank Act requirement that banks move their derivatives business out to affiliates.
The bill, included on a schedule released by Republican House leaders, would alter the 2010 law’s pushout provision by allowing trading of almost all types of derivatives by units of banks with access to deposit insurance and discount borrowing. The provision was put in Dodd-Frank as a way to reduce risk by banks such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Citigroup Inc. that benefit from U.S. backstops.
The revision, which has broad support in the House, hasn’t gained traction in the Senate. A companion bill introduced by Senator Kay Hagan, a North Carolina Democrat, hasn’t seen movement.
The House Financial Services Committee approved a bill sponsored by Representative Randy Hultgren, an Illinois Republican and Representative James Himes, a Connecticut Democrat, by a 53-6 vote in May after the House Agriculture Committee advanced it by a 31-14 vote in March.
The Federal Reserve has granted certain banks two-year extensions to comply with the Dodd-Frank requirement to separate derivative trading from U.S. units that get federal backing. The central bank has said in letters to banks that the companies must determine whether to halt the swaps activity or move it to properly capitalized affiliates.
The House bill is H.R. 992.
To contact the reporters on this story: Cheyenne Hopkins in Washington at chopkins19@bloomberg.net; Silla Brush in Washington at sbrush@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Maura Reynolds at mreynolds34@bloomberg.net