Overnight Finance: Trump repeals consumer arbitration rule | GOP scrambles on tax bill | Trump floats repealing ObamaCare mandate in tax bill | Powell told he’ll be picked for Fed chair | Fed holds off on rate hike | Bank nominee gets rough reception

Trump repeals consumer arbitration rule, wins banker praise: President Trump on Wednesday signed a repeal of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s rule on forced arbitration, winning praise from banking and business groups.

Trump approved the resolution to repeal the CFPB rule, meant to prevent banks and credit card companies from blocking customers from joining class-action lawsuits against them, in a private Oval Office signing.

{mosads}

The House passed a resolution to repeal the rule in July, which passed the Senate two weeks ago.

Trump was joined by the heads of several banking lobbying groups that opposed the CFPB rule, contending it would kill cheaper options for consumers while enriching trial lawyers.

The chiefs of the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA), Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions and several other groups attended the signing. I’ve got more here: http://bit.ly/2z4szUf.

 

Trump suggests repealing ObamaCare mandate in tax bill: President Trump on Wednesday suggested using the GOP tax bill to repeal ObamaCare’s individual mandate.

“Wouldn’t it be great to Repeal the very unfair and unpopular Individual Mandate in ObamaCare and use those savings for further Tax Cuts,” Trump tweeted.

The idea is being pushed by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.). A Cotton spokeswoman told The Hill that Cotton and Trump spoke by phone about the idea over the weekend and “the President indicated his strong support.”

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) this week said that he wouldn’t rule out including repeal of the mandate in the tax legislation.

But other top Republicans have rejected the idea, including House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas), Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.). The Hill’s Nathaniel Weixel tells us why: http://bit.ly/2z6eu8y.

 

Powell told he’ll be nominated for Fed chair: President Trump has told Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell that he will be nominated to serve as the Fed’s next chairman, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

Powell, a Republican, had been reported as Trump’s top choice this week by several media outlets. Trump called Powell on Tuesday to inform him of the decision, sources familiar with the talks told the newspaper.

Trump is expected to announce Powell’s nomination on Thursday. If confirmed, Powell will replace Fed Chair Janet Yellen, a Democrat who has led the bank since 2014.

Powell and Yellen share similar views on monetary policy, preferring a slower, steadier increase in interest rates back toward historical averages. Powell, who oversaw the Fed’s financial regulatory efforts until last month, has also called for modest changes to the Dodd-Frank Act with bipartisan support: http://bit.ly/2z7eANy.

 

Happy Wednesday and welcome back to Overnight Finance. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.

See something I missed? Let me know at slane@digital-stage.thehill.com or tweet me @SylvanLane. And if you like your newsletter, you can subscribe to it here: http://bit.ly/1NxxW2N.

 

On tap tomorrow:

Trump to announce his nomination for the next chairman of the Federal Reserve.

House GOP to release tax bill

House Financial Services Committee: Hearing entitled “Sustainable Housing Finance: Private Sector Perspectives on Housing Finance Reform, Part II,” 10 a.m.

 

Trump pushed for tax plan to be called ‘Cut Cut Cut Act’: President Trump and House GOP leaders are at odds over what to name the forthcoming tax bill, ABC News reported Wednesday.

Trump has reportedly insisted on calling the legislation the “Cut Cut Cut Act,” but House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) have pushed back on the idea.

The emphasis on tax cuts in the president’s suggested name is because White House polling shows that Americans look more favorably on language about tax cuts than tax reform, according to ABC.

Trump has reportedly continued to support his suggested tax plan name, despite internal GOP opposition. Ultimately, ABC News reported, the Ways and Means Committee will decide the name of the plan, which is set to be unveiled Thursday. http://bit.ly/2z5zJHH.

 

Quest for tax reform is Ryan’s moment of truth: This is Paul Ryan’s moment of truth.

The 47-year-old Speaker of the House has been preparing for it ever since the Wisconsin Republican won his first election to Congress nearly two decades ago.

Tax reform has been Ryan’s true passion and life’s work on Capitol Hill. The former Ways and Means Committee chairman has given countless speeches on the subject and spent the past year pitching the GOP’s tax framework to manufacturers around the country.

And tax reform — if it passes or fails — could be the last landmark piece of legislation Ryan works on in Congress, several of his GOP colleagues said. The Hill’s Scott Wong tells us why: http://bit.ly/2z5Njel.

 

Opposition to corporate tax rate cut grows: A key component of Republicans’ tax-reform plan is becoming more unpopular with Americans, according to a new Politico-Morning Consult poll. 

Forty-one percent of respondents said lowering the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent should not be a part of the tax reform legislation, while 39 percent said it should be included. 

The percentage of respondents opposed to lowering the corporate tax rate has gone up in recent weeks. 

Thirty-eight percent of respondents said they were opposed to raising the rate on corporations earlier in October, according to Politico.

However, support for the overall tax reform plan remains steady, with 48 percent of respondents saying they approved of it, while 37 percent opposed it, according to the poll. http://bit.ly/2z5RGGh.

 

Trump bank nominee gets rough reception at confirmation hearing: President Trump’s nominee to lead the Export-Import Bank struggled Wednesday to win over the Senate Banking Committee, with members skeptical that he should helm an agency that he sought to abolish while in Congress. 

Scott Garrett, a former Republican lawmaker from New Jersey, repeatedly stated that he fully supports the bank and would let it “continue to fully operate.”

“So, let me again be clear, and leave no doubt in anyone’s mind; that I commit to and will carry out the president’s vision regarding Ex-Im: a fully functioning bank,” he said. 

But those words did little to mollify the senators, who grew increasingly frustrated with Garrett as the hearing went on. Their frustration grew when Garrett dodged questions about whether his opinion of the bank, which he has labeled as “corporate welfare,” has changed. The Hill’s Vicki Needham takes us there: http://bit.ly/2z7WyuB.

 

Fed holds off on November rate hike: The Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady for another month and praised the economy’s “solid” growth, the central bank’s policy arm announced Wednesday,

The Federal Open Markets Committee is keeping the money market interest rate range between 1 to 1.25 percent, opting against a raise. The Fed last hiked rates in June, the second hike of 2017.

The FOMC said the overall economy has continued to improve, with the unemployment rate continuing to fall even after the summer hurricanes that caused widespread economic disruption.

“Although the hurricanes caused a drop in payroll employment in September, the unemployment rate declined further,” said FOMC. “Household spending has been expanding at a moderate rate, and growth in business fixed investment has picked up in recent quarters.” http://bit.ly/2z57WXQ.

 

Treasury: Extraordinary measures push debt limit to January: Congress will need to take action to raise the debt limit by sometime in January 2018, according to an estimate from the U.S. Treasury released Wednesday.

“If Congress fails to increase or further suspend the debt limit by December 8, Treasury, as it has in the past, can take certain extraordinary measures to continue to finance the government on a temporary basis,” said a report from Monique Rollins, acting assistant secretary for financial markets.

“Extraordinary measures will allow the government to continue to meet its obligations through January 2018. It is currently too early to provide a more precise forecast as to how long the extraordinary measures will last,” it continued. The Hill’s Niv Elis explains why: http://bit.ly/2z5ywjM.

 

Ex-Yahoo chief, Equifax execs to testify before Senate panel: Former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is slated to join current and former CEOs of Equifax in testifying before a key Senate panel later this month on cybersecurity breaches.

The individuals will appear before the Senate Commerce Committee to answer questions about massive data breaches that hit both firms, the committee revealed on Wednesday.

“Massive data breaches have touched the vast majority of American consumers,” Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) said in a statement. “When such breaches occur, urgent action is necessary to protect sensitive personal information.”

“This hearing will give the public the opportunity to hear from those in charge, at the time major breaches occurred and during the subsequent response efforts, at two large companies who lost personal consumer data to nefarious actors,” Thune added. http://bit.ly/2z48Js1.

 

From The Hill’s opinion pages:

Tax plan should account for economic storms on horizon, by Desmond Lachman from the American Enterprise Institute

America’s bond market is crushing it, by Mark Heppenstall, chief investment officer at Penn Mutual Asset Management.

 

Write us with tips, suggestions and news: slane@digital-stage.thehill.com, vneedham@digital-stage.thehill.com, njagoda@digital-stage.thehill.com and nelis@digital-stage.thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @SylvanLane,  @VickofTheHill, @NJagoda and @NivElis