The Federal Reserve and Trump-appointed financial regulators are making significant changes to bank and other financial regulations imposed after the global financial crisis and during the Biden administration. Proponents see this as a welcome adjustment; critics see it as a dangerous step in the wrong direction.

At the Hutchins Center on Fiscal & Monetary Policy on July 16 at 10:00 am, Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr will draw from history to argue that boom times often bring a weakening of rules governing banks and other financial institutions that is followed by an economic bust with harmful consequences for households and businesses.

Barr has been on the Federal Reserve Board since July 2022 for a term that extends to January 2032. He was vice chair for bank supervision until he resigned in February 2025 to avoid a showdown with the Trump administration over its power to remove him from that post. Barr recently dissented from the Fed board’s decision to relax the enhanced supplemental leverage ratio because, he said, it “unnecessarily and significantly reduces bank-level capital.” He currently chairs the Fed’s Committee on Consumer and Community Affairs. A lawyer by training, Barr worked in the Clinton and Obama administrations and was a key player in the drafting of the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. He also has previously served as dean of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.

Following his remarks, Barr will be interviewed by David Wessel, director of the Hutchins Center, and will field questions from the audience. Viewers may pose questions in advance by emailing [email protected] or on X/Twitter @BrookingsEcon using the hashtag #BarrAtBrookings.