The Regional Bank Coalition (RBC) and Mid-Sized Bank Coalition of America (MBCA) sent a letter to Congress last week, urging them to provide regulatory relief for banks.
“While the MBCA and RBC support a regulatory regime that encourages safety and soundness and protects consumers and the financial system, we also seek and are uniquely suited, to foster the much-needed banking services that urban and rural communities in all 50 states need in order to create jobs,” the letter, signed by more than 80 banks, said.
Many of Dodd-Frank’s provisions drain resources that could be used to better serve customers and communities, the letter said.
“We face higher operational costs and are forced to divert capital and funding away from the products we offer and lending that helps businesses expand and create jobs,” the letter said. “Rather than hiring loan officers and other customer-service providers, we have been compelled to reallocate our budgets and engage lawyers, quantitative modelers and banking consultants.”
The banks said “one-size-fits-all” regulations should be replaced by regulations that appropriately reflect a bank’s business model and risk.
“Reform of Dodd-Frank will benefit midsize and regional banks, but more importantly, it will provide new opportunities for our customers and thus support U.S. economic growth. To this end, we encourage you to work with your colleagues in a bipartisan manner to move forward with financial regulatory improvements that fulfill these goals,” the letter concluded.