Anti-Dodd-Frank lawmaker urges relaxed bank regulations

A Republican lawmaker has proposed legislation he says will ease ability-to-repay requirements for banks

A Republican lawmaker has proposed legislation he says will ease ability-to-repay requirements for banks.
 
Republican Congressman Andy Barr has proposed new legislation that would help banks pass ability-to-repay requirements for loans they held on their balance sheet.
 
H.R. 2673, “Portfolio Lending and Mortgage Access Act” would amend the Truth in Lending Act to make loans held on banks’ portfolios qualified as qualified mortgages for purposes of the presumption of the ability to repay requirements.
 
Congressman Barr has testified several times in front of the House Financial Services Committee over the last several months to argue against the regulatory and compliance burdens of Dodd-Frank legislation for smaller community banks.  He said in a testimony in April that compliance is “too burdensome, too complex, and counterproductive,” and that the current regulatory environment was not only hurting small bankers but consumers and the overall economy.
 
Congressman Barr’s office of media relations did not return requests for comment by press time.