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Community bankers' hard work to improve their banks' performance and to maintain the reputation of their industry has paid off. Now it is time for them to press their advantage in their market, in their state and in Washington D.C., said Cam Fine, president and CEO of the Independent Community Bankers of America. Fine's fellow ICBA executive committee members, and the more than 3,000 attendees who gathered at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., March 1-5, for ICBA's Annual Convention, greeted Fine's address with a standing ovation. The community banking industry is optimistic about its future and ready to be recognized as the financial backbone of the U.S. economy.
It is time to press Congress and regulators for relief and tiered regulation, Fine said. "Now is not the time to be timid souls, now is the time to use our good name," he said. "We have to build upon our sterling reputation as community bankers."
The role community banks and bankers have played in buoying the economy is undeniable, Fine said. "You have served as a human barrier between the Wall Street financial crisis and Main Street businesses and families," he said. "Community bankers kept towns, cities and villages going. We are the ones who kept our damaged economy running while Wall Street broke down and destroyed much of the world's wealth and opportunity. Large banks pulled back on credit to small businesses while community bankers' loan portfolios continued to grow.
"Our message to Congress and to regulators is simple," Fine continued. "Let us do our jobs. Let us serve our communities as we have since our country was founded. Stop allowing wrong-doers at megabanks to write a check so they can continue the same reckless and illegal practices that put our entire economy at risk."
ICBA victories
The best defense is a great offense, Fine said. "By being on offense, we have gained ground and scored numerous, historic victories in Washington, D.C.," he said. "Our campaign for community bank regulatory relief made headway in the last Congress. We know how hard it is to run a bank that is sometimes more full of bank examiners than of bankers. With a new Congress that's receptive to regulatory relief and tiered...