Dayhoff Westminster: New York Times: Community Banks Lobby to Limit New Regulations

Thursday, May 26, 2011

New York Times: Community Banks Lobby to Limit New Regulations

Community Banks Lobby to Limit New Regulations

MAY 23, 2011, 8:37 PM LEGAL/REGULATORY

Community Banks Lobby to Limit New Regulations

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/community-banks-lobby-to-limit-new-regulations/?nl=business&emc=dlbka9

Network television ads appearing in the Washington area feature an anxious woman who cautions that “community banks and credit unions will be squeezed” by “bad” regulation.

Subway cars serving suburban Virginia carry similar warnings, while Capitol Hill newspapers have run ads from small banks that show an empty pocketbook alongside an alarming notice that “Washington is helping you clean out your wallet.”

The message is clear: lawmakers and regulators should tread lightly on small banks.

In recent months, the community banking industry has started an aggressive grassroots campaign, taking aim at regulation enacted in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Small banks fear new rules under the Dodd-Frank law, especially certain consumer protection provisions and debit card fee restrictions, could hurt their bottom line and even cause a few banks to fail. The Independent Community Bankers of America, an industry trade group, spent roughly $1.2 million lobbying regulators and lawmakers in the first quarter of 2011, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

But the regulation may not be as burdensome as the advertising campaign — or the lobbying dollars — implies. Community banks and credit unions won exemptions from several of the law’s toughest provisions, and some of the rules put small banks on more equal footing with big banks.

“There is basic human anxiety about change,” said Neal S. Wolin, deputy secretary of the Treasury...

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/community-banks-lobby-to-limit-new-regulations/?nl=business&emc=dlbka9