Senate narrowly kills rule on arbitration, class-action lawsuits

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republicans and Wall Street scored a hard-fought victory on Tuesday when the U.S. Senate killed a new ban on financial companies requiring customers to surrender their right to sue in order to open accounts.

Republican Vice President Mike Pence appeared on the floor at 10:11 p.m. EDT to cast the tie-breaking vote as Senate president, putting the final count at 51-50.

The Republican-dominated House of Representatives has already passed the resolution repealing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule released in July. Fellow Republican President Donald Trump is expected to quickly sign the resolution, which also bars regulators from instituting a similar ban in the future.

Reporting by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Paul Tait

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