Support Grows for Rounds’ Legislation to Provide Relief to Community Banks & Credit Unions

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, today heard from a panel of community bank and credit union CEOs about the negative impact federal regulations are having on their ability to serve their customers. Specifically, the panel agreed that two of Rounds’ bills to provide regulatory relief to small-and-medium-sized banks, The Home Mortgage and Disclosure Adjustment Act (HMDA) and The TAILOR Act, would be beneficial to their consumers.

Rounds to the panel: “You’re business people. You’re going to make money. You’re going to spend the money when it comes to regulatory requirements. But then you’re going to pass it on to somebody else, who is going to take that cost. And I think that is the part that sometimes gets lost, particularly on smaller banks.”

Rounds asked the panel about HMDA, which he introduced this week with Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.). HMDA would provide relief by exempting community banks and credit unions from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) revised Regulation C final rule.

Dorthy Savarese, Chairman, President & CEO, The Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank, said in response: “We set up priorities for major projects in the bank, and it sort-of makes me sad that on top of introducing basic banking checking accounts and some things that serve our consumers more effectively, that we have to have the HMDA preparation as a major initiative taking up time, technology, and taking it away from the things that we could do to server our customers.”

Rounds also asked about The TAILOR Act, which he introduced earlier this year and would allow federal regulators to more precisely tailor the regulations they issue based on the risk profile of the institutions. When Rounds asked the panel about the effect The TAILOR Act would have on their consumers, the panel unanimously agreed it would be beneficial.

John Bissel, President & CEO, Greylock Federal Credit Union, said:  “I think scaling things appropriately makes sense.”

Watch the full exchange here.