Bummer: Biden Climate Rules For Banks Killed Off

Really, all these scam rules did was make it more expensive to do business and interfere in the private market

U.S. regulators toss out rules requiring banks to prepare for climate change

Regulators are doing away with controversial rules that required banks to plan for losses in the event of climate-related events, according to an announcement Thursday.

A joint release from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve said they no longer believe the requirements are necessary as they are redundant with other provisions banks make to plan for emergencies and unusual events.

“The agencies do not believe principles for managing climate-related financial risk are necessary because the agencies’ existing safety and soundness standards require all supervised institutions to have effective risk management commensurate with their size, complexity, and activities,” a joint release from the three regulators said.

Good

Fed Governor Michael Barr, the former vice chair for supervision, issued a statement disagreeing with the move.

“Rescinding the principles is shortsighted and will make the financial system riskier even as climate-related financial risks grow,” Barr said in a statement.

Trump administration officials have criticized the Fed for falling prey to mission creep, or exceeding the scope of its mandates for monetary policy and bank supervision. The climate change provisions, established in October 2023, were one point of criticism.

Chair Jerome Powell has repeatedly stated that climate is not a direct Fed issue. The rules required banks, as part of routine testing, to list potential losses they might suffer from climate-related issues.

Since when do Democrats care about exceeding the scope of mandates? They love blowing right by them. But, this is a good start, and, hopefully the Trump admin keeps neutering the scam as practiced by the federal government.