CONGRESSMAN BARR'S BANKING UPDATE
"Your organization is an outstanding compliment to the efforts of ABA and ICBA" said Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) in an exclusive Zoom visit with Friends of Traditional Banking's leadership this week.

"Your political activism is very needed and appreciated," he said of FOTB, "and there are some exciting opportunities to bring in new members of Congress sympathetic to your cause next year."

Rep. Barr, the first House member endorsed by FOTB, shared his efforts to expand access to capital in underbanked communities, promote the ECORA Act, and to require banking regulators to simplify regulations. Bankers need to play offense, and look at ways to be vocal this Congressional session. Ideas included looking at ways to bank in Opportunity Zones tax free, clarifying terms in UDAAP, and tweaking CECL to make more sense.

"Thanks to Dodd-Frank, there are 13,000 fewer banks in this country than in the 1980s," he said. "We need to make it easier to start new banks and regulatory relief to make it easier for existing banks." Credit unions buying community banks is a "big concern on our radar screen, and it is eroding the tax base and contributing to the consolidation problem."

Regarding taxes, Rep. Barr said "I will oppose anything that increases the 21% corporate rate, a financial transaction tax, or any of the other bad ideas being floated right now." He said "I know the CFPB is a big concern. I continue to push for the CFPB to be more accountable to Congress."

He concluded by talking about how America needs traditional banking. "Thanks to the philanthropic and charitable efforts of banks. You're a strength in communities that too often is unnoticed."
Only Days Left to Win in August Referral Contest

Help us grow our ranks as we gear up for next year's fight by nominating friends to our cause. You can nominate individuals on our website HERE. Or, you can nominate many at the same time by emailing a spreadsheet including at least their name, email address, and state to mike@friendsoftraditionalbanking.com.
 
The top five referrers will each receive a $100 Amazon gift card, and every other referrer will be entered into a drawing for a $500 Amazon gift card! Contest starts TODAY and ends at midnight Pacific Time August 30, 2021. Send us the names of everyone that shares your love of banking!

Here are the current standings in the contest:
SPONSOR'S CORNER

The regulators don’t ask for your opinion often. When they do, be sure and give it!
A message from our sponsor BankOnItUSA:

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) are seeking comment on proposed guidance on managing risks associated with third-party relationships.

The agencies are seeking consistency in their third-party risk management guidance as well as combining and extending the scope of multiple releases regarding third-party risk management issues since 2020. While the notification is only a request for comment, insights from the proposal can help institutions making vendor selections prior to release of formal guidance.

Want to provide content in our Sponsor's Corner? Reach out about being a partner! mike@friendsoftraditionalbanking.com
PAID for by Friends of Traditional Banking. NOT authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Friends of Traditional Banking is a non-partisan grassroots effort organized by bankers in 2012 to improve the political and regulatory environment for the traditional banking industry in the U.S. FOTB is the inverse of a PAC--instead of spreading a little bit of money to a lot of campaigns, they focus a lot of money on a couple of key campaigns.