Richard's Rapid Fire - May 5, 2017

May 5, 2017

Dodd-Frank Reform Passes House Financial Services Committee, Interchange Included (Senate has not even started) • Today is OCC Comptroller’s Curry’s Last Day • First Tennessee Becomes a $40 Billion Bank • 70% of all Small Business Loans Made by Banks Greater than $1 Billion in Assets • ICBA’s Cam Fine Retiring • My Panel at Fiserv Forum • Representatives Introduce HMDA Bill • High School Graduates Attending College Nears All-Time High • Internal Audit Working Group Visits D.C. • New CBA Associate Members

 

CHOICE Act 2.0 Passes Financial Committee, Next Stop House Passage

After one long, drawn out House Financial Services Committee hearing, the Financial CHOICE Act, which reforms Dodd-Frank, passed the committee by a vote of 34 to 26. Since Dodd-Frank’s passage, banks have been working diligently to comply with the sometimes onerous and duplicative requests of regulators. I am encouraged by Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling’s (R-TX) commitment to meaningful and targeted changes to Dodd-Frank, and welcome the bill’s provisions intended to provide regulatory relief for both banks and consumers, such as the repeal of the Durbin Amendment. As we know, the Durbin Amendment previously passed with almost no debate, and it imposed price controls on debit interchange fees while promising lower prices for consumers — but the savings never came. In addition, CBA appreciates the Committee’s reforms to the CFPB. However, CBA continues to believe consumers would best be served by establishing a five-person, bipartisan commission at the bureau.

 

Next stop, is House passage. In the Senate, we are still waiting on a bill.

 

Ahead of the hearing, CBA sent a letter to Chairman Hensarling outlining our positions.

 

Amendments offered to the CHOICE Act during the House Financial Services Committee's markup of the bill.

 

 

New Chief at the OCC

Today is OCC Comptroller Thomas Curry’s last day on the job, and the banking industry is watching closely as new leadership has potential to greatly impact banking policy. Following the expiration of Curry’s 5-year term, President Trump named an acting comptroller, Keith Noreika, to fill the position until a fulltime replacement is nominated. Noreika previously worked as a lawyer at Covington & Burling LLP. It is rumored Joseph Otting, a former chief executive of OneWest Bank, is being considered for the top spot at the OCC.

 

 

First Horizon Buys Capital Bank, Becomes a $40 Billion Bank

M&A activity continues with the purchase of Capital Bank Financial Corp by First Horizon National Corp, owner of First Tennessee Bank. The deal will increase the asset size of First Horizon to about $40 billion. Regulations, such as the Dodd-Frank Act, changes in technology, and the current state of economy are still moving the banking industry towards further consolidation. While M&A activity is slowing down due to the higher costs of deals, it is hard to believe that the banking industry’s number of FDIC institutions will stop decreasing any time soon, if at all.

 

 

Membership Spotlight: CBA Members made $270 Billion in Small Business Loans

As Small Business Week comes to a close, it is important we recognize the benefit our members provide to small business. With more than 70% of small business loans made by banks with asset sizes greater than $1 billion, CBA members have a significant and positive impact on small business growth. In 2015 alone, our banks provided small businesses with $270 billion to hire workers, provide consumers with needed products and services, and to build new businesses.

To see how CBA’s members are helping small business in your state, click here.

 

 

Best Wishes to ICBA’s Cam Fine

For nearly 15 years, Cam Fine provided ICBA with strong, and passionate leadership. Thanks to our conversations about the banking industry, politics and our mutual love of baseball, I have developed a deep respect for Cam on both a professional and personal level. (And sometimes he was right). I wish him and his family all the best following his retirement. I look forward to working alongside his successor Rebecca Romero Rainey, Chairman and CEO of Centinel Bank and former ICBA Chair.

 

 

Trumps’ First 100 Days: Sharing My Thoughts at the Fiserv Forum

With financial reform a 2017 priority for the Trump Administration, I joined Cheryl Nash of Fiserv and Craig Pfeiffer of Money Management on stage at the Fiserv Forum in Las Vegas to discuss the future of the financial services industry. From the CFPB to the fiduciary rule to regulatory reform, we covered a lot of ground. Thank you Kathleen Mikula and the rest of the Fiserv family for having me. Hope to see you all again soon.

CBA's Richard Hunt joined Cheryl Nash of Fiserv and Craig Pfeiffer of Money Management on stage this week at the Fiserv Forum in Las Vegas.

 

 

CBA Supports Bill Aimed at Protecting Consumers’ Financial and Personal Information

Of course, consumers should not have their private information placed at risk of public exposure when buying a home.  As experts note, the CFPB’s final HMDA rule exposes consumers’ financial and personal information, such as credit scores, debt-to-income ratios, and property addresses, to significant re-identification risk. I commend Representatives Randy Hultgren (R-IL) and Andy Barr (R-KY) for introducing legislation calling for a study into the risks posed by the Bureau’s rule, and I urge Congress to move swiftly in advancing the bill to better protect consumers’ private information.

 

 

High School Students Attend College in Droves: But Will They “Know Before They Owe?”

Good news, the number of high school graduates attending college is on the upswing. A near record high of 69.7% of high school graduates between the ages of 16 and 24 headed off to college in 2016, according to the Department of Labor. But with college students drowning in a sea of debt as result of their federal student loans—currently $1.3 trillion and counting— the question remains: Will they know how much they will owe before graduation? Private lenders have done an exceptional job helping borrowers understand the total cost of their student loans through clear, concise disclosures. Where banks have succeeded the Department of Education was failed. This is why I called on the federal government to implement a “Know Before You Owe” policy for federal student loan borrowers in my Morning Consult op-ed. The federal government must do right by student loan borrowers.

 

 

CBA’s Internal Audit Working Group Visits D.C.

We’ve got a jam-packed agenda next week as CBA’s Internal Audit Working Group visits Washington, D.C. We’ve rolled out the red carpet, and are awaiting their arrival. See you all soon!

 

 

CBA Welcomes Ignite Sales and Lafferty Group

Welcome aboard, Ignite Sales and Lafferty Group. We are pleased to welcome these two companies as CBA’s newest associate members.

 

 

Three Things to Know to be In the Know

More Companies Willing to Take on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

U.S. auto sales slump in April as cars suffer

Wilmers built a pipeline of talent at M&T. It may produce the executive who succeeds him

 

 

Lagniappe

Dale Dabbs CEO of EZShield was named a finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur 2017 Entrepreneur of The Year Award.

Dallas Cowboys Draft Picks: A+

 

 

Team CBA was at Nationals Park this week watching the Nats take on the Arizona Diamondbacks.

 

 

U.S. Bank Employees learned MarketSim this week during CBA OnSite Education in Minneapolis, Minnesota.