Senate to ease Dodd-Frank rules
Ten years after a financial crisis rocked the nation’s economy, the Senate is poised to pass legislation that would roll back some of the safeguards Congress put into place to prevent a relapse.
The legislation would increase the threshold at which banks are considered too big to fail. Under the Senate bill, some of the nation’s biggest banks would no longer have to undergo an annual stress test conducted by the Federal Reserve. The test assesses whether a bank has enough capital to survive an economic shock and continue lending.
Dozens of banks would also be exempted from making plans called “living wills” that spell out how the bank will sell off assets or be liquidated in a way that won’t create chaos in the financial system.
The legislation increases from $50 billion to $250 billion the threshold at which banks are considered critical to the system. The change would ease regulations on more than two dozen financial companies, including BB&T Corp., Sun Trust Banks Inc. and American Express.
Nordstrom rejects family buyout offer
Department store operator Nordstrom said Monday it had rejected a takeover offer from members of the Nordstrom family, calling the price “inadequate.”
The family group, including co-presidents Blake, Peter and Erik Nordstrom, offered $50 in cash for each share of the company that the family doesn’t own, plus the same price for about 21 percent of the company that individual family members own.
A special committee for the company’s board of directors said it rejected the offer and said it will stop discussions with the family members unless they can increase the price.
Nordstrom reported sales and profits last week that fell short of expectations for the quarter that includes the holiday season. Taking the company private would pave the way for the chain – which traces its roots back to a Seattle shoe store opened in 1901 – to manage its reinvention without the watch of the public markets.
3M chooses Michael Roman as chief executive
Manufacturing company 3M Co. has named Michael Roman as chief executive, replacing Inge Thulin.
Roman will take over July 1, with Thulin moving into a newly created position of executive chairman of the board.
The 58-year-old Roman is a 30-year veteran of 3M, serving for the last eight months as chief operating officer and executive vice president. He also has led the company’s Industrial Business Group, its largest, and served as strategist.