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The top Democrat on the House banking panelon Wednesday saida Republican banking bill could lead to greater concentration in the U.S. financial industry, already dominated by behemoths like JPMorgan Chase (JPM) , Bank of America (BAC) , Citigroup (C) , Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) .

"Does this open up the door to more acquisitions?" asked Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee at a hearing on a package of Republican banking bills. "Instead of five or six big banks maybe we'll have three in this country."

At issue is a provision in the bills, known as the Financial Choice Act of 2017, thatwould exempt banks from any limits on "mergers, consolidations, or acquisitions of assets or control" if they increase their capital buffers to meet a 10% leverage ratio requirement.

The provision is part of a much broader package of bills thatwould give banks relief from a substantial majority of the Dodd-Frank Act -- legislation written in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

Waters suggested the bill provides big banks with relief without the oversight and regulation included in the Dodd-Frank Act.

Testifying at the hearing, Michael Barr, a former assistant secretary for financial institutions at the U.S. Treasury between 2009 and 2010 in the Obama administration, said that the measure eases restrictions on the largest firms to engage in M&A "irrespective" of concerns about financial stability.

Republicans countered by pointing outthat the legislative package, sponsored by House Financial Services Committee chiefJeb Hensarling, R-Texas, is opposed by some executives at the biggest banks, who argue that they have already set up a system to handle the new rules, while changes would breed uncertainty.

"The little guys are getting crushed by Dodd-Frank," said Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wisc. "The big titans, the big boys, they like it."

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Top Democrat: GOP Bill Would Make Big Banks Bigger - TheStreet.com