It’s hard to believe, but one year ago President Obama signed into law perhaps the most significant financial reform bill in my lifetime. A year later, the Dodd-Frank Act is just now getting off the ground. But instead of looking back, ICBA continues moving ahead to advocate policies that will allow community banks to keep serving their customers.
Yesterday, the House approved legislation to reform the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau so that it is governed by a five-member commission and is subject to greater oversight by prudential regulators. These changes would go a long way toward keeping the new regulator in check.
We’ve also made good progress on a slew of bills to reduce the regulatory and exam burdens community bankers have to face on a daily basis. One that requires regulators to study the effect of their policies on the exam environment
passed in committee just this week.
Meanwhile, we continue working with regulators on new mortgage and debit card interchange rules to maximize protections for community banks.
Dodd-Frank might still be in its infancy, but ICBA has been fighting on behalf of community banks for more than 80 years. We look forward to continuing that fight in the weeks, months and years to come.
