Updated: 3:25 p.m. ET

(Bloomberg) – President Donald Trump stepped up hiscriticism of financial regulations, pledging to go after the 2010Dodd-Frank banking overhaul because he said the law has made itdifficult for businesses to get loans.

"We're going to be doing a big number on Dodd-Frank," Trump saidMonday at an event with small business leaders at the White House.He called the legislation "a disaster" and said, "It's almostimpossible now to start a small business and it's virtuallyimpossible to expand your existing business."

Trump's remarks are his most pointed on financial rules since hetook office Jan. 20. His advisers vowed to dismantle Dodd-Frankduring the transition period, but have provided scant details onhow they plan to go about it. Trump didn't say whether he plannedto attack the law through executive action or by working withCongress on legislation.

Banks and investors have been trying to decipher how thebillionaire will balance his populist message to the middle classwith his Wall Street ties, which include a cadre of former GoldmanSachs Group Inc. bankers he's tapped for key roles in hisadministration.

Executive order

The president's comments came as he signed an executive orderrequiring that government agencies revoke two existing regulationsfor each new one they issue, fulfilling a campaign promise. Trumpcampaigned on cutting a federal bureaucracy that he blames formaking it harder for businesses to grow and get funding.

Trump didn't provide data linking lending rates toDodd-Frank.

Key lending portfolios have been on the rise since formerPresident Barack Obama signed Dodd-Frank into law in July 2010. Atthe time, commercial and industrial lending was at $1.2 trillion,according to data from the Federal Reserve. Almost seven yearslater, that measure of credit from U.S. banks to thebusiness sector is up almost 70 percent to $2.1 trillion.

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Small business loans have declined as a percentage of overallcommercial and industrial loans. Commercial and industrial loans of$1 million or less fell to 20 percent in the third quarter of lastyear, down from 31 percent in the second quarter of 2010 justbefore the Dodd-Frank Act was passed, according to the FederalDeposit Insurance Corp.

Justin Schardin, an analyst at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington whofocuses on financial regulation, said it's unclear how much the2010 law has directly affected lending to small businesses. "It'sworth looking at all different types of lending to see what impactpost-crisis reforms have had," he said.

Getting Congress to make big changes to the 2010 banking lawwon't be easy. While House Republicans, led by Jeb Hensarling,chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, is working on ameasure that would rip apart most of Dodd-Frank, the Senate BankingCommittee hasn't proposed its own version. Most legislation wouldrequire support from at least some Democrats in the Senate to avoidfilibuster rules, unless lawmakers try to attach parts of it to afast-track budget process.

Asked whether Trump would seek to change Dodd-Frank throughlegislation or executive action, the president's spokesman, SeanSpicer, offered no clarity. He told reporters Monday in Washingtonthat Trump would "continue to work with Congress" on changing thelaw. 

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