Remarks Prior to a Briefing on Banking and Finance Regulatory Reform
April 24, 1992

I announced in the State of the Union Message a 90-day regulatory moratorium, and today another step is being taken to reduce the regulatory burdens. The 90-day moratorium has been a tremendous success. And I applaud the good work by the Council on Competitiveness, headed by Vice President Quayle.

As you know, excessive regulations add billions of dollars of costs to the American economy each year. We’ve got to do something about these costs. And during the moratorium we’ve made more than 70 deregulatory changes that will save tens of billions of dollars for American consumers and taxpayers. Many of these changes will also help create jobs for American workers.

We will have more announcements next week, and I’ll have more to say on this subject on Wednesday. Today’s announcement concerns financial service regulations, and we’re announcing a package of banking initiatives designed to streamline financial regulation. Our new regulatory uniformity policy will reduce or eliminate unnecessary compliance costs by financial service institutions. We’re also announcing measures to strengthen financial health and to reduce unnecessary regulatory barriers to new lending. These reforms will increase access to capital for individuals and businesses, thereby contributing to economic growth.

The Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, John Robson, and Boyden Gray, our General Counsel, and Michael Boskin will provide you with all the details.
Thank you very much.

NOTE: The President spoke at 11:55 a.m. in the Briefing Room at the White House.