WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., introduced legislation today that would require financial regulators to assess whether new rules are duplicative or inconsistent with existing regulations.  The “Financial Regulatory Clarity Act of 2014,” S. 2829, is similar to a measure introduced by Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. The Capito bill, H.R. 4466, was approved by the House Financial Services Committee in May 2014.

“This bill would help alleviate much of the regulatory burden facing some our banking agencies, especially our community banks,” Wicker said.  “Hundreds of new banking regulations have been imposed on the industry since the financial disaster in 2008. A sensible step would be to require federal officials to determine if these new regulations are duplicative or in line with existing guidelines. We cannot expect the nation’s financial institutions to serve their customers effectively if the regulations that govern their business are onerous or conflicting.”

The “Financial Regulatory Clarity Act of 2014” would require that federal financial regulators:

• Determine whether new regulation could be in conflict, inconsistent, or duplicative with any existing regulation;
• Take all available measures under current law to resolve any of these issues;
• Recommend changes to Congress to promote consistency and streamline existing laws; and
• Evaluate and review current and proposed rules to resolve regulatory conflicts.