Senate passes bill easing some bank rules,

WASHINGTON—The Senate passed bipartisan legislation Wednesday designed to ease bank rules that were enacted to prevent a relapse of the 2008 financial crisis that caused millions of Americans to lose their jobs and homes.

The Senate voted 67-31 for a bill from Republican Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho that would dial back portions of the law known as Dodd-Frank.

The legislation would increase the threshold at which banks are considered so big and plugged into the financial grid that if one were to fail it would cause major havoc. Those banks are subject to stricter capital and planning requirements. Lawmakers are intent on loosening the restraints on them in hopes that it will boost lending and the economy.

President Donald Trump signaled that he'll sign the bill once it gets through Congress. Dismantling Dodd-Frank was one of his campaign pledges.

"The bill provides much-needed relief from the Dodd-Frank Act for thousands of community banks and credit unions, and will spur lending and economic growth without creating risks to the financial system," the White House said in a statement after the vote.

Republicans unanimously supported the bill, while Democrats splintered into two camps. One included several senators from rural states who worked out the compromise with Crapo. The other, led by Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Sherrod Brown of Ohio, said the bill catered too much to the banks that contributed to the financial crisis and would increase the likelihood of future taxpayer bailouts.

"Big banks and their lobbyists are about to score a touchdown at the expense of hardworking families across the country," Brown said shortly before the vote.

The bill makes a fivefold increase, to $250 billion, in the level of assets at which banks are deemed to pose a potential threat if they failed. The change would ease regulations and oversight on more than two dozen financial companies, including BB&T Corp., SunTrust Banks, Fifth Third Bancorp and American Express.

Eventually, the exempted banks would no longer have to undergo an annual stress test conducted by the Federal Reserve. The test assesses whether a bank has enough of a capital buffer to survive an economic shock and continue lending. The banks also would be excused from submitting plans called "living wills" that spell out how a bank would sell off assets or be liquidated in the event of failure so that it wouldn't create chaos in the financial system.

Crapo, chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, emphasized that the Federal Reserve would still have the authority to apply tougher standards for banks with between $100 billion and $250 billion in assets. "This bill, Mr. President, is a bill designed to protect community banks and credit unions, and that's why we have such bipartisan support for it."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Dodd-Frank proved to be "too blunt" an instrument. He said it hurt smaller lenders who provide more than 50 percent of small business loans and more than 80 percent of agricultural loans.