ICBA called on the Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation to calculate budgetary and revenue cost estimates for legislation to expand tax-exempt credit unions’ business lending authority. In a letter to the offices, ICBA noted that the credit union initiative would displace lending by taxpaying community banks, which would reduce tax revenues and widen the federal budget deficit.

ICBA noted that the CBO in 2010 estimated the cost of similar legislation to be $354 million over 10 years. Because the latest credit union push would increase the business-lending cap an additional 2.5 percentage points, ICBA wrote, a new revenue estimate is justified.

Community bankers can make their voices heard on this issue by contacting their members of Congress and by signing ICBA’s petition to stand up against the credit union power grab.

Read ICBA Letter. Contact Congress Today. Sign ICBA’s Petition.

The proposed joint rulemaking by the prudential banking regulators on new minimum capital standards for community banks has generated confusion about which banks are subject to the proposal. All depository institutions regardless of size are subject to the new Basel III minimum regulatory capital proposal. All savings and loan holding companies regardless of size are subject to the proposal as well.

Only consolidated bank holding companies with consolidated assets of less than $500 million are exempt from the regulatory capital proposal. Regardless, any depository institution subsidiary that is consolidated with an exempt bank holding company would still be subject to the proposal regardless of its size. Read ICBA Summary.

Bank consolidation and the growth of the financial system has led to the increase in size, scope and complexity of large U.S. bank holding companies, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York report. The study found that U.S. BHCs control well over $15 trillion in total assets, representing a fivefold increase since 1991.

The share of BHC assets controlled by the 10 largest firms has more than doubled over the past two decades, from less than 30 percent to more than 60 percent. Meanwhile, the total number of firms organized as BHCs has declined from 5,860 in 1991 to 4,660 as of fourth-quarter 2011.

The FDIC warned of instances in which individuals or purported investment advisors have approached financially weak institutions in apparent attempts to defraud the institutions by claiming to have access to funds for recapitalization. These parties may claim that the investors or individuals associated with the investors include prominent public figures and that the investors have been approved by federal banking agencies to invest substantial capital in the targeted institutions.

Once paid in advance, the parties have failed to conduct substantive due diligence or to actively pursue the proposed investment. The FDIC said that institutions should be extremely cautious if approached by any party in a similar manner. Read the FDIC Alert.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be in the spotlight today as officials head to Capitol Hill. CFPB Director Richard Cordray is slated to testify at a 10 a.m. (Eastern time) House Oversight Subcommittee on TARP and Financial Services hearing on how the bureau’s rules are affecting consumer access to credit.

Also today, the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection holds a 2:30 p.m. (Eastern time) hearing on private student loans. CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman Rohit Chopra is scheduled to testify.

Another top regulator will be on Capitol Hill tomorrow as Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testifies at a 9:30 a.m. (Eastern time) House Financial Services Committee hearing on the Financial Stability Oversight Council. The hearing is scheduled to cover the FSOC’s first report to Congress, though expect a discussion of the Libor scandal as well.

Also tomorrow, the House Agriculture Committee meets at 10 a.m. (Eastern time) for a hearing on oversight of the swaps and futures markets. The June report on new-home sales is due out from the Commerce Department at 10 a.m. as well.

The ICBA Career Center has what your community bank needs to attract the perfect candidate for even your most specialized job. Access the premier online interactive job board designed for community bankers this month and save.

Through July 31, community bankers can save $25 on a Single-30-Day Job Posting Package by entering the discount code CBCareer1 when purchasing and $50 on a Three-30-Day Job Posting Package with the discount code CBCareer2. Visit the Career Center.

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