Recent bank collapses that prompted a federal rescue are a reminder of the power still held by Washington lobbyists. It seemed like a good idea at the time, in 2018 Republicans working with president Trump to slash bank regulations joined forces with red state Democrats facing grim reelection prospects. The group passed a bill that rolled back portions of the 2010 Dodd Frank law. The bill was marketed as a form of relief for overburdened community banks, but it also lifted the threshold for strict oversight and mandatory stress testing of large mid sized banks, it is now being blamed for contributing to the collapse of Silicon Valley bank and signature bank whose executives lobbied for the Bill, the effort drew an army of more than a thousand lobbyists, companies and trade groups specifically mentioning the legislation spent more than $400 million in 2017 and 2018, according to an Associated Press analysis, Americans for financial reform, a watchdog group says we can draw a direct line between the deregulation driven by the bank lobby, and the chaos of the last few weeks. Jennifer King, Washington