CBA Reflects on Last Year, Looks Ahead to 2022

Consumer Bankers Association President and CEO Richard Hunt today issued the following statement reflecting on the last year and looking ahead to 2022:

“In spite of continued challenges, CBA over the last year was proud to deliver on behalf of our membership, whose unyielding commitment to the communities they serve has helped fuel America’s recovery, drive our nation’s economic growth and finance the American dream for millions of hardworking families and small businesses. 

“Amidst a rapidly evolving banking industry, lingering economic headwinds and regulatory uncertainty from policymakers in Washington, our work continues in the year ahead. From navigating changes in the workforce to protecting consumers from the risks posed by unregulated and unsupervised fintechs and emerging technologies, to further strengthening competition and innovation and promoting consumer choice, our CBA team looks forward to continuing our work together, including marking the return of retail banking’s top annual event, CBA LIVE, March 7-9 in San Antonio, TX.”

In recognition of the past year, here is a look back at some of CBA’s Most Memorable Moments in 2021:

• Announcing Wells Fargo’s Michelle Lee as CBA’s first female minority Board Chair, who follows the successful tenure of Bank of America’s Christine Channels, now serving as Immediate Past Board Chair. The two CBA leaders were profiled in Charlotte Business Journal as Charlotte-based female executives at two of the nation’s largest banks who are using their leadership positions to drive progress in the industry.
• Supporting banks’ efforts to ensure small businesses across the country could access the critical lifeline the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) provided – a program which has helped save more than 80 million jobs.
• Successfully streamlining the PPP forgiveness process for approximately 85 percent of all small businesses – amounting to the equivalent of $7 billion of additional small business relief – and helping banks lead the way to advance the forgiveness process, which 79 percent of all PPP borrowers have already completed.
• Hosting CBA’s first-ever Washington Forum, a virtual summit bringing together 800 registrants and 14 Members of Congress, regulators, and industry experts to discuss the critical shift ahead for retail banking following the 2020 election. During this event, Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chairman, Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, commended CBA for its successful efforts to streamline the PPP forgiveness process.
• Touting the indelible role of America’s leading banks in supporting our communities throughout the pandemic, including publishing an op-ed in RealClearMarkets, appearing on Fox Business and producing a comprehensive communications toolkit in May, when the CEOs of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citi, and Wells Fargo testified before Congress.
• Maintaining 100 percent of our corporate membership and welcoming several new members, including Valley National, MidFirst Bank, Associated Bank, Berkshire Hills Bank, First United Bank & Trust, S&T Bank, Liberty Bank and First National Bank Texas, as well as retaining all our 26 year-round sponsors, including CBA’s six premier sponsors: Curinos, Equifax, Fiserv, Harland Clarke, Visa and Experian.
• Successfully leading a coalition to protect consumers’ privacy and prevent the establishment of an expansive new tax information reporting regime that would directly impact almost every American and small business with an account at a financial institution.
• Successfully advocating for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to rescind its June 2020 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Rule and begin a new joint-rulemaking to modernize the CRA, which will provide much-needed clarity and updates to an outdated law and ensure banks can continue to deliver on the law’s mission of serving the financial needs of their communities.
• Announcing Wells Fargo as the 2021 Joe Belew Award winner, recognizing the bank for its efforts to support communities hardest hit by the pandemic with its Drive-Up Food Bank Program.  
• Hosting our 12th annual CBA LIVE, brought together (virtually) over two days this summer more than 750 attendees and speakers, including Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu, over 66 hours of programming to discuss the biggest issues facing the banking industry, from what to expect under new leadership at the CFPB to strengthening financial inclusion and banking the unbanked. 
• Celebrating the 70th anniversary of CBA’s Executive Banking School (EBS), a one-of-a-kind education program, which was sold out this year with nearly 300 banking leaders participating – 45 percent of whom were women – from more than 30 banks. 
• Announcing the 2021 Tem Wooldridge Award winner, Citi’s Alexis Hirst, who was recognized as the top EBS graduate by faculty fellow graduates for her outstanding academic performance, high integrity and a strong work ethic and who has since joined the EBS faculty.
• Underscoring the benefits of overdraft protection and the emergency safety it provides for millions of consumers, while recognizing the innovative products banks have delivered to expand consumer choice.
• Highlighting examples of fintech fraud and the dangers of unregulated fintech Buy Now Pay Later products as well as the emergence of Big Tech in banking, while urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to ensure the highest level of consumer protections are upheld, regardless of where consumers go to meet their financial needs.
• Launching a new video series, the Small Business Spotlight, with the International Franchise Association (IFA), National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), and U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) to recognize the historic partnership between America’s leading banks and the small businesses they worked to support during an economic crisis.
• Holding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accountable for establishing clear and transparent rulesof the road that apply fairly to all market participants, including releasing a white paper entitled, “The Case For Regulation Through Rulemaking & Guidance,” and publishing an op-ed in Banking Dive, to ensure the Bureau’s mission of protecting consumers is achieved long after the tenure of any one director, including Director Rohit Chopra, concludes.
• Protecting and expanding consumers’ access to affordable credit, including testifying before the U.S. Senate on how proposals to arbitrarily impose interest rate caps would stifle those efforts, ultimately harming individuals and families.
• Hosting CBA’s first in-person event in nearly two years, welcoming more than 40 members of CBA’s Board of Directors and Mid-Tier Council as well as Committee Chairs and Vice Chairs to CBA World Headquarters for the 2022 Leadership Summit to discuss our priorities for 2022.
• Advancing solutions to strengthen financial inclusion, including releasing a report with The Clearing House and other financial trade associations outlining policies and products that have successfully banked the unbanked and reaffirming the important role financial institutions can play to achieve this goal.
• (AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST!) Welcoming the CBA Team back to CBA World Headquarters in Washington, DC, after more than 15 months working remotely.