Appearing before the House Financial Services Committee, leaders from the prudential banking regulators touted the important role of community banks and the need to reduce their regulatory burden.
Community Bank Focus: At the “Oversight of Prudential Regulators” hearing:
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Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said she supports efforts by Congress to reduce the regulatory burden on community banks and advocated updating outdated statutory thresholds.
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Acting FDIC Chairman Travis Hill touted a recent interagency proposal to lower the Community Bank Leverage Ratio from 9% to 8% and extend the current two-quarter grace period to four quarters, as advocated by ICBA.
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Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said he wants to focus supervision on material financial risks and that community banks will benefit from a tailored framework that reflects their critical role in local economies.
Congressional Support: Committee Chairman French Hill (R-Ark.) added the goal of the committee was to “make community banks great again” and to ensure that any guidance or regulations should be clear and non-detrimental to the financial institutions required to follow them.