ICBA this week made headway in its push to relieve community banks from excessive regulatory burden and the Justice Department’s Operation Choke Point initiative. Testifying before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, ICBA community banker Sam Vallandingham continued ICBA’s call for tiered regulations that are tailored to the size and complexity of financial institutions.
Vallandingham, president and CEO of The First State Bank in Barboursville, W.Va., urged lawmakers to advance:
- The End Operation Choke Point Act of 2014 (H.R. 4986), which would rein in the Justice Department’s abusive use of subpoena authority and help preserve the ability of banks to serve legal and legitimate business customers without undue pressure from law enforcement or examiners,
- The Community Bank Mortgage Servicing Asset Capital Requirements Study Act of 2014 (H.R. 4042), which would require the banking regulators to stop and study ill-conceived Basel III mortgage-servicing rules scheduled to take effect in less than six months, and
- Draft legislation to exempt certain loans held in portfolio from new appraisal requirements to promote the continued flow of mortgage credit to moderate-income borrowers and strengthen the housing recovery.
Also this week, ICBA reiterated its support for legislation to rein in Operation Choke Point in written statements for separate House Financial Services and House Judiciary subcommittee hearings. |
