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Press Release: Washington, D.C. (June 21, 2024)—Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey issued the following statement on today’s Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. approval of the formation of Thrivent Bank, a new industrial loan company, or ILC.
“ICBA and the nation’s community banks strongly oppose the approval of deposit insurance applications from industrial loan companies, which present outsized risks to the Deposit Insurance Fund, financial stability, consumers, and taxpayers. The FDIC should deny ILC applications to prevent firms from skirting full regulatory oversight and violating U.S. policy separating banking and commerce through the ILC charter.
“As ICBA has detailed in a comprehensive white paper, the ILC charter allows applicants’ parent companies to own and operate FDIC-insured banks while avoiding the Bank Holding Company Act regulations that apply to other traditional banks. In addition to creating conflicts of interest, the commercial activities of ILC applicants pose risks to the FDIC's Deposit Insurance Fund, the financial system, and consumer privacy. Further, with only Utah and a few other states granting ILC charters, this handful of states shouldn’t dictate U.S. banking policy or serve as safe havens for companies that are unwilling to comply with the same set of rules and regulations that otherwise apply to the traditional bank charter.
“Notably, Congress is working to close the dangerous ILC loophole. The ICBA-advocated Close the Shadow Banking Loophole Act, introduced by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) and co-sponsored by Sens. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), would require companies that acquire an ILC to be subject to the same consolidated supervision by the Federal Reserve as any other bank holding company.
“Any company that wishes to own a full-service bank should be subject to the same restrictions and supervision that apply to any other bank holding company. The FDIC and Congress should stop allowing commercial firms to benefit from the federal safety net while avoiding regulatory oversight — the FDIC should reject pending ILC applications and Congress should pass the Close the Shadow Banking Loophole Act.”
About ICBA
The Independent Community Bankers of America® has one mission: to create and promote an environment where community banks flourish. We power the potential of the nation’s community banks through effective advocacy, education, and innovation.
As local and trusted sources of credit, America’s community banks leverage their relationship-based business model and innovative offerings to channel deposits into the neighborhoods they serve, creating jobs, fostering economic prosperity, and fueling their customers’ financial goals and dreams. For more information, visit ICBA’s website at icba.org.