Rounds: Federal Bureaucracy Unnecessarily Hurting South Dakota Banks

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, today at a hearing heard from regional bank executives how Dodd-Frank regulations are limiting their ability to grow, expand and remain competitive. During the hearing, Deron Smithy, Treasurer of the Regions Bank Group, told Rounds that Regions Bank Group now has more employees devoted to compliance related matters than commercial lending.

“When a bank is forced to hire more compliance officers or retain more capital it makes fewer loans, this means that there is less money available for small business owners to start or expand their businesses,” said Rounds. “When we take a look at what’s happening to our economy since the beginning of a recovery, and what appears to be not a robust recovery, I wonder whether or not a lot of that has to do with a regulatory hand on the top of the ball which is sitting in the water, holding it down from where it would otherwise be.”

Video of his remarks is available HERE.