Washington, D.C. (May 18, 2017)—The Independent Community Bankers of America® (ICBA) today expressed support for the Main Street Regulatory Fairness Act (S. 1139), introduced by Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.). The bill would exempt community banks with assets of less than $50 billion from regulatory stress tests required by the Dodd-Frank Act. The legislation is consistent with ICBA’s pro-growth Plan for Prosperity regulatory relief platform.
“ICBA thanks Sens. Tester and Moran for introducing the Main Street Regulatory Fairness Act. Stress testing requires significant technology investments or the engagement of vendors, all of which divert community bank resources away from local lending and economic growth,” ICBA President and CEO Camden R. Fine said. “This legislation is a perfect example of sensibly tiered regulation, which will allow larger community banks to focus their time on doing what they are meant to do—serving the needs of their customers and community, while contributing to local economic prosperity.”
Community banks did not cause the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, and stress testing them does nothing to make the financial system safer. S. 1139 recognizes that larger community banks with assets well above the current stress test threshold of $10 billion in assets pose no systemic risk and therefore should not be required to perform costly and time-consuming stress tests. Some community banks have indicated compliance with these requirements can cost several million dollars per year.
ICBA looks forward to working with Sens. Tester and Moran to advance this important legislation.
About ICBA
The Independent Community Bankers of America®, the nation’s voice for more than 5,800 community banks of all sizes and charter types, is dedicated exclusively to representing the interests of the community banking industry and its membership through effective advocacy, best-in-class education and high-quality products and services. For more information, visit ICBA’s website at www.icba.org.
