Pub. 14 2017 Issue 2

O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S - H E L P I N G N E W M E X I C O R E A L I Z E D R E A M S Issue 2 • 2017 11 P artisanship inWashington in recent years has led some to believe that Congress doesn’t “do” collaboration anymore. One party’s gain is seen as the other’s loss, making deals hard to come by. But many bankers who came to Washington in March for ABA’s Government Relations Sum- mit and other meetings got a slightly different vibe from the policymakers they met with. Yes, some members of Congress predictably held firm against significant changes to the Dodd-Frank Act. Yet others, informed – and perhaps worn down – by bankers’ true stories of how over-the- top rules were harming their customers were positive about the possibility of finally doing something for community banks. There’s a similar realistic yet optimistic atti- tude behind an effort by the two leaders of the Senate Banking Committee – Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) – to identify legislative changes that could help spur economic growth. They won’t pursue changes they don’t believe in, of course, but both see an opportunity to find and pursue common ground. These encouraging signs aremade all themore hopeful by administration officials who have pro - actively reached out to community banks to learn what rules are acting as roadblocks to growth. In March, President Trump invited nine communi- ty bankers to the White House for a roundtable discussion of the industry’s regulatory challenges. Though the bankers represented institutions with different business models, operated in different parts of the country and were affiliated with different national trade associations (six were part of ABA’s delegation; three were with the Independent Community Bankers of America), there was remarkable alignment in our policy positions and priorities. The same can be said for the follow-up meet- ing that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin held with 16 community bankers in April. That’s where the secretary made clear how serious the administration was about helping banks perform their critical role in promoting economic growth. And it’s where we dug into the specifics of issues related tomortgage, agricultural and commercial lending, as well as Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rules that are ill-tailored for community banks. There again, ABA and ICBA members were side-by-side, advocating practical solutions. Such alignment is critical to success in Wash- ington. I’ve said before that Washington has enough challenges without trying to legislate issues on which an industry is divided. Policy- makers up and down Pennsylvania Avenue are interested in addressing our problems – so long as we can agree on the best solutions. And I am confident that the solutions we have proposed – as detailed in white papers ABA shared with Secretary Mnuchin following the meeting – are what’s right for America’s banks and the communities they serve. The white papers (which can be found at www.aba.com/ executive-orders) articulate how regulation in areas like capital, liquidity, fair lending and stress testing can be improved. They were informed by the deliberations in recent years of bankers who serve on our many councils and working groups and who represent banks of different business models and asset sizes. Solutions born of such diverse perspectives are always stronger by en- suring that they make sense for all banks. Given how intent this administration is about using banks to spur growth, and given the in- terest Congress has shown in providing some community bank regulatory relief, having strong solutions with unified industry backing could just make something happen inWashington again. n ROB NICHOLS, PRESIDENT AND CEO American Bankers Association WASHINGTON UPDATE I’ve said before that Washington has enough challenges without trying to legislate issues on which an industry is divided. Policymakers up and down Pennsylvania Avenue are interested in addressing our problems – so long as we can agree on the best solutions. A Do-Something Washington