Florida Banking May 2022

CHAIR’S MESSAGE

ADVOCATING FOR THE BANKING INDUSTRY IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

BY FAB BRUMLEY, FBA CHAIR

I t is always an honor to represent the FBA in Washington, D.C. Our recent trip on February 28 - March 3 with the Executive Committee was very successful, as we met with more than 16 representatives to discuss the issues impacting our industry. Among the many meetings, we had the opportunity to sit down with Sen. Marco Rubio’s Chief of Staff, Mike Needham, Sen. John Cornyn, Sen. Rick Scott, FED Governor Michelle Bowman, and Congressman Byron Donalds. It is also worth mentioning that we were in D.C. during President Biden’s State of the Union address as the invasion of Ukraine by Russia was in its first week. While our discussions were largely focused on banking topics, it was enlightening to hear a little bit of intelligence on those very current issues on the world stage. Our articulated points were well-received as there was mutual appreciation for the dialogue, time and attention. I’d like to recap a few of the major topics we discussed in D.C.: Climate Reporting Requirement The FBA has been very outspoken about this proposal that would position banks as the “climate police,” and we expressed our concerns to the Congressmen in D.C. about the costly burden of hiring compliance staff to evaluate customers’ carbon emissions. While the current comments suggest that these guidelines will apply to the larger systemic risk banks, history and experience has shown that rules like this often trickle down to the regional and community banks too. SBA Direct Lending This proposal would give the Small Business Administration the authority to make direct loans of $150,000 or less. We have only to look at the results of the pandemic relief efforts to understand how misguided it is for the SBA to expand beyond its original scope; while banks implemented PPP with low levels of fraud, the SBA’s EIDL program estimated nearly $80 billion in fraudulent activity. The FBA has urged our representatives to oppose this proposal that would usurp authority from

banks and authorized lenders who are already providing these services. SAFE Banking Act We support this bill because it would provide an avenue to capture the financial impact of a state-approved cannabis industry through lawful banking systems. As things are now, the federal government is out of alignment with the states, rendering a denial of banking services to legal cannabis-related businesses. So long as the businesses are legal, we should be allowed to bank an industry. ILC Loophole Our industry advocates for a level playing field with Industrial Loan Companies. These non-bank companies should be held accountable for the same supervision and regulation as banks, considering they offer the same banking services. When we speak on this issue, we emphasize the importance of upholding the separation between banking and commerce. Credit Union Taxation We are diligent in reminding our representatives of the outdated tax loophole that credit unions enjoy. The mega credit unions, those greater than $1 billion in assets, should be subject to the same federal taxes as our banks. We urge our representatives to reconsider the tax-exempt status of the mega credit unions; this cannot be ignored with our national debt reaching $30 trillion. Though you could not join us to walk the halls of Congress this year, there are many other opportunities to raise your voice for our industry. Keep an eye on your inbox for invitations to participate in Zoom calls with key representatives, be sure to heed our Calls-to-Action, and make plans to attend educational events to stay up-to-date with the goings-on of our industry. You won’t want to miss our 134th Annual Meeting in Orlando on June 5-8, with fresh and relevant content for today and tomorrow’s banking industry. If you haven’t already, be sure to register today and make your hotel reservations. We look forward to seeing each other again soon!

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