U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03) issued the following statement after Daniel Tarullo, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, announced regulatory relief for regional banks under $250 billion in assets:

“I appreciate Governor Tarullo's acknowledgement of the problem that financial institutions are being smothered by one-size-fits-all regulation, which is harming borrowers and lenders in communities across America,” Luetkemeyer said. “However, size alone is not the best way to evaluate risk or apply regulation. Earlier this year, the House Financial Services Committee passed my bill which would more closely base the regulation of financial institutions on risk rather than arbitrary asset thresholds. While today’s announcement represents a step forward, a risk-based approach is a better way to both protect consumers and promote economic growth.”

H.R. 1309, the Systemic Risk Designation Improvement Act, would enhance the criteria used to make Systemically Important Financial Institution (SIFI) designations by requiring federal financial to examine not only an institution’s size, but also its complexity, interconnectedness, global activity and substitutability.