Company: BWFG
Filing Date: 2025-03-05
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001505732-25-000052
Chunk: 20

Company: Bankwell Financial Group, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-03-05
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 20
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, but does not purport to be a complete summary of all applicable laws, rules and regulations. These laws, rules and regulations may change from time to time and the regulatory agencies often have broad discretion in interpreting them. Any change in such laws, rules or regulations, whether by the Connecticut Department of Banking, the FDIC or the Federal Reserve Board ("FRB") could have a material adverse impact on the financial markets in general, and our operations and activities, financial condition, results of operations, growth plans and future prospects specifically.

9

Dodd-Frank Act

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act"), enacted in 2010, significantly changed the existing bank regulatory structure, affecting the lending and investment activities and general operations of depository institutions and their holding companies.

The Dodd-Frank Act made many changes to banking regulations, including authorizing depository institutions to pay interest on business checking accounts, requiring originators of securitized loans to retain a percentage of the risk for transferred loans, establishing regulatory rate-setting for certain debit card interchange fees, requiring bank holding companies and banks to be “well capitalized” and “well managed” in order to acquire banks located outside of their home state, requiring any bank holding company electing to be treated as a financial holding company to be “well capitalized” and “well managed,” and authorizing national and state banks to establish de novo branches in any state that would permit a bank chartered in that state to open a branch at that location.

The Dodd-Frank Act also created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with extensive powers to implement and enforce consumer protection laws, having examination and enforcement authority over all banks and savings associations with more than $10 billion in assets. Banks and savings associations with $10 billion or less in assets will be examined for compliance with federal consumer protection and fair lending laws by their applicable primary federal bank regulators. The Dodd-Frank Act also gives state attorneys general certain authority to enforce applicable federal consumer protection laws.

Economic Growth Act

The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (the “Economic Growth Act”), enacted in May 2018, repealed or modified several provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. In addition, the Economic Growth Act includes regulatory relief for community banks regarding regulatory examination cycles, call reports, the so-called "Volcker Rule", mortgage disclosures and risk weights for certain high-risk commercial real estate loans.

The Economic Growth Act provides insured depository institutions and their affiliates with less than $10 billion