03.08.18

Regulatory Relief for Small Community Banks, Credit Unions

‘Farmers, ranchers, small businesses, vulnerable communities -- Americans need community banks and credit unions. But Dodd-Frank is making it harder for these institutions to survive. Millions of Americans, from rural areas to inner cities, now find themselves in what researchers call “banking deserts.” Fortunately, help is on the way.’

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act:

“The Dodd-Frank Act became law in 2010. It ostensibly targeted banks deemed too big to fail. But seven and a half years later, Dodd-Frank has proved to be far too blunt an instrument. For one thing, it’s imposed a crushing regulatory burden on small community banks and credit unions. Rather than fixing too big to fail, Dodd-Frank has threatened to make many of these Main Street mainstays ‘too small to succeed.’

“This is especially problematic because of the central role that local financial institutions play in their communities. Local lenders provide a majority of small business loans, and nearly three quarters of agricultural loans.

“And in low-income communities, when a local bank closes, research suggests that loans to nearby small businesses plummet by forty percent. Farmers, ranchers, small businesses, vulnerable communities -- Americans need community banks and credit unions. But Dodd-Frank is making it harder for these institutions to survive. Millions of Americans, from rural areas to inner cities, now find themselves in what researchers call ‘banking deserts.’ Fortunately, help is on the way.

“Thanks to the leadership of Senator Crapo, Democrats and Republicans have joined together to cosponsor a modest but important bill that would streamline the obstacles tripping up these smaller institutions. It’s a commonsense, compromise measure -- and Senators do not need to resolve all our differences on Dodd-Frank in order to unite behind it. I look forward to voting to pass these reforms soon.”

Related Issues: Small Business, Economy