WASHINGTON — Federal regulators moved on Wednesday to ease oversight of the country's largest banks and other financial firms, continuing a push by the Trump administration to reverse rules that were put in place following the 2008 financial crisis.
The Federal Reserve said it would adjust the structure of its annual "stress tests," which measure the ability of leading banks to withstand a potential economic or financial storm. The changes are likely to make it easier for banks to get regulatory approval to pay higher dividends or buy back their own shares.
Separately, a federal oversight panel announced that it planned to no longer designate big, non-bank financial institutions — insurers, asset managers and the like — as "systemically important." The classification subjected such firms to more intrusive government regulation.
Taken together, the announcements on Wednesday represented a big win for the financial industry, which has been arguing since the Obama administration that a flurry of regulations imposed following the financial crisis were onerous and made it harder for banks to make loans and support economic growth. Bank executives also argue that because the industry is much financially stronger than it was a decade ago,many recent regulations are now unnecessary.
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