NEWS RELEASE
June 17, 2009
ABA Media Contact: John Hall
(202) 663-5473
E-mail: jhall@aba.com

ABA STATEMENT ON WHITE HOUSE REGULATORY REFORM PROPOSAL

by Edward L. Yingling, ABA president and CEO

            "The American Bankers Association believes that regulatory reform is badly needed and that Congress should move this year to adopt such reforms.  We agree with the Administration that this is a high priority. 

            "However, we believe the Administration's proposal is so vast and controversial that it will be extremely difficult to enact and will produce great uncertainty in the financial markets and among financial regulators while it is pending.  It needlessly rips apart all the existing regulatory agencies, eliminates charter choices and creates a new agency with powers to mandate loans and services that go well beyond consumer protection. 

            "ABA will advocate for legislation that focuses on creating a systemic regulator, providing a strong mechanism for resolving troubled systemically important firms and filling gaps in the regulation of the shadow banking industry.  Such significant legislation would address the principal causes of the financial crisis and constitute major reform.
 
            "As we have previously stated, ABA believes the Administration and Congress should focus on these three critical issues.  Fortunately there is a broad consensus in the need to address these issues, and the Administration's proposal provides a strong foundation for the debate on them."


# # #

The American Bankers Association brings together banks of all sizes and charters into one association. ABA works to enhance the competitiveness of the nation's banking industry and strengthen America's economy and communities. Its members – the majority of which are banks with less than $125 million in assets – represent over 95 percent of the industry's $13.5 trillion in assets and employ over 2 million men and women.