Trump warns that regulators are running the banks

Washington, April 5 (IANS) President Donald Trump warned that it is the regulators who are currently running the country's banks, insisting that he will eliminate the "horrible" regulations hampering US job creation and economic progress.

Trump on Tuesday spoke at a White House forum attended by dozens of business leaders to discuss the country's economic climate and how to spur economic and job growth.

"Under Dodd-Frank, the regulators are running the banks," warned Trump, mentioning the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the aim of which is to increase regulation and supervision of the financial system to avoid risk-taking of the kind that led to the 2008 financial crisis, Efe news reported.

The President in February, in a series of executive orders, had launched the process to revoke Dodd-Frank, although it is Congress that actually must eliminate it.

"We're going to do a very major haircut on Dodd-Frank. We want strong restrictions, we want strong regulation. But not regulation that makes it impossible for the banks to loan to people that are going to create jobs," Trump promised.

Regarding his plan to increase investment in infrastructure, Trump noted that he had asked Congress to approve $1 trillion for that purpose, adding that the final figure would be "perhaps even more".

He said that his aim is to provide financing only for infrastructure projects that are ready to be undertaken in the short term.

Projects that cannot be launched within 90 days will not receive any funding, the President said.