Florida Banking April/May 2025

PRESIDENT'S PERSPECTIVE

MAINTAINING OPTIMISM AMID UNCERTAINTY, REFLECTING ON OUR 69TH ANNUAL D.C. TRIP

BY KATHY KRANINGER, FBA PRESIDENT AND CEO

As we wrapped up our 69th Annual FBA Fly-In to Washington, D.C., many of the bankers noted this was the best trip to D.C. in a long time, if not the best trip to D.C. ever. Yes, the FBA team deserves credit for a well-run program with the right speakers. We also had a great turnout of bankers and sponsors who brought thoughtful questions and engaged with policymakers. In addition, the weather was pleasant compared to the brutal cold of President Trump’s second Inauguration a month earlier and the infamous FBA Fly-In snow-in year that bankers still talk about. But best trip…ever?! The reason — optimism! The bankers are clearly responding to the enthusiasm Republican lawmakers exhibited for the first time in many years. The message and tone are different — even from the first Trump term. The goals are clearer. The conference is more unified and more optimistic about the big picture. The President has deeper relationships with many lawmakers — they understand and know each other better. The optimism permeates, despite the volatility of the “move fast and break things” Silicon Valley approach that DOGE is bringing to executive branch reform. The optimism remains, despite uncertainty about whether that approach and Congressional action will result in smaller, more efficient government. Positive energy made the difference! Here are just a few highlights: •We heard from Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) hours before the House passed the budget resolution launching the reconciliation process. At that point, he did not know if the bill would pass. Yet, he was excited about how fast the President was moving to deliver on the promises he made during the campaign and confident the

Republican majority would support those efforts. • House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (R-AR) spoke about the deregulatory agenda and his focus on making community banking great again, as the first banker to head the committee in 100 years. • We engaged with Florida members of the Ways and Means Committee — Vern Buchanan, Greg Steube and Aaron Bean — about their efforts to move a tax package. •House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast (R-FL) talked about the need to par back the size and scope of the federal government, particularly addressing waste, fraud and abuse. •And, of course, we talked with members of Congress and regulators about the challenges bankers are facing and the need to reverse the unnecessary, burdensome regulations finalized in recent years. Will we see results? There are reasons to be optimistic. Our top priority for regulatory relief is the CFPB’s final rule implementing section 1071 of the Dodd Frank Act on small business lending data collection. As I write this, the Senate is moving the nomination of former FDIC Director Jonathan McKernan to be CFPB Director. He will be a strong advocate for ensuring the CFPB sticks to its statutory mandates and paring 1071 back. Changing the law would be ideal, though we will need bipartisan support in Congress. That is the work of the coming months – leveraging the uncertainty of DOGE efforts in the executive branch and seeking Democrat support for reforms. Time will tell….

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