Spending bill includes significant Dodd-Frank change

Tucked into the 1,603-page omnibus spending bill put out by congressional leaders late Tuesday night was a significant change to the landmark 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law.

The Democratic-led Senate has resisted substantive changes to the law, which with ObamaCare has been one of President Obama's signature legislative initiatives, but it appears that resistance may be weakening ahead of the GOP takeover of the Senate in January.

The notable change is language that would alter an arcane but important Dodd-Frank requirement that prohibits bank entities that engage in some kinds of derivatives trading from accessing federal deposit insurance and emergency lending from the Federal Reserve.

Some kinds of derivatives, which are bets on the value of an underlying asset, helped exacerbate the financial crisis of 2008, mostly notably in the case of the insurer American International Group's derivative trades with Wall Street banks.

Click for more from WashingtonExaminer.com