Congress Passes Major Financial Reform Bill, ABA Remains Staunchly Opposed

http://www.insidearm.com/news/00022908-congress-passes-major-financial-reform-bi/

Washington, DC – “The American Bankers Association remains strongly opposed to the legislation agreed to by the House and Senate conferees today," said Edward L. Yingling, president and CEO of the ABA.

Bankers have supported key reform principles since the beginning of this debate. Creating a systemic risk council, creating a robust method for handling the failure of large institutions, ending the concept of too-big-to-fail, closing gaps in regulatory oversight, and enhancing consumer protection are all laudable goals that the industry supports.

But these important provisions are overshadowed by a number of other provisions in the bill that run far afield from Wall Street reform and will ultimately harm Main Street. The consequences involved are very real and will have a very negative impact on traditional banks, on consumers and on the broader economy. This bill will, in the end, add well over a thousand pages of new regulations for even the smallest bank. As a result of this volume and the new restrictions, many small banks are telling us they will simply have to sell out to larger institutions that have the staff to deal with the massive volume of new reports and rules. Above all, the capability of traditional banks to provide the credit needed to move the economy forward has been undermined in numerous ways."

“We have worked tirelessly to ensure that members of the House and Senate understand and recognize these concerns. While we have had some success in this regard, in the final analysis, the legislation in question simply does more harm than good and will make it exceedingly difficult for banks to be the drivers of economic growth and recovery going forward," said Yingling.

About the ABA
The American Bankers Association represents banks of all sizes and charters and is the voice for the nation’s $13 trillion banking industry and its two million employees. The majority of ABA’s members are banks with less than $165 million in assets. Learn more at www.aba.com.