The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) has outlined its legislative and regulatory priorities, with officials noting the effort would assist local lenders in meeting the needs of local communities.
“Community banks have been the economic foundation of the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic in local communities,” ICBA Chairman Robert Fisher, president and CEO of Tioga State Bank in Spencer, New York, said. “With community banks continuing to account for 60 percent of Paycheck Protection Program lending, ICBA’s policy resolutions will guide us as we continue working to help local communities thrive.”
The ICBA’s Policy Development Committee and board of directors established prioritization that includes addressing tax-exempt credit unions, encouraging Congress to act upon the abuses of the credit union industry’s federal tax subsidy, and investigating the National Credit Union Administration’s effort to regulate and oversee the industry properly.
Additionally, with regard to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the ICBA supports legislation granting the CFPB increased statutory authority to exempt or tier regulatory requirements for community banks, exempt banks with $50 billion or less in assets from CFPB examination and enforcement, replacing single-director governance with a five-member commission.
Within the realm of data security and fraud, the ICBA backs a national data security standard, ensuring all payments system participants, merchants included, would be subjected to Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act-like data security standards.