ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey joined a House Financial Services Committee fireside chat at the U.S. Capitol in support of the committee’s newly unveiled pro-community bank legislative package.
Details: Introduced this week by committee Chairman French Hill (R-Ark.) and Subcommittee on Financial Institutions Chairman Andy Barr (R-Ky.), the Main Street Capital Access Act (H.R. 6955) includes ICBA-supported provisions to tailor regulations to the lower risk profile of community banks, ease excessive capital requirements, support the formation of new community banks, ensure fair reviews of agency examinations, raise thresholds for holding custodial and reciprocal deposits, and more.
ICBA Remarks: Speaking at the event, Romero Rainey cited the importance of these provisions to advancing tiered and proportionate regulations that will unleash the full power of community banks. “We represent 20% of the assets in this country, but we make 60% of its small-business loans,” she said.
Support for Community Bankers: Meanwhile, policymakers espoused the positive impact of community banks on local economies and the importance of regulatory relief, with Hill emphasizing the regulatory burdens facing community banks, Barr referring to community banks as the “financial infrastructure of rural America,” and Treasury Undersecretary for Domestic Finance Jonathan McKernan warning that unchecked regulation will continue to drive banking industry consolidation.