NEWS RELEASE
July 15, 2010
ABA Media Contact: Peter Garuccio    
(202) 663-5452
E-mail: pgarucci@aba.com

ABA DISAPPOINTED WITH FINANCIAL REGULATORY REFORM BILL

By Edward L. Yingling, ABA president and chief executive officer

            “The American Bankers Association is very disappointed with the regulatory reform bill that is now headed for enactment.  While its core provisions provide needed reform, it is overloaded with new rules and restrictions on traditional banks that did not cause the financial crisis.  The result will be over 5,000 pages of new regulations on traditional banks and years of uncertainty as to what the massive new rules will mean.

“Its impact will be felt not only by the banking industry itself, but by the millions of consumers and businesses that rely on financial services every day to meet their saving, borrowing and financing needs.  It will also, by extension, have a considerable impact on the broader economy and the capability of traditional banks to provide the credit needed to create jobs and drive economic growth.

“The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act does contain some key reform provisions that bankers have long supported, including creation of a new systemic regulatory body, a new process for ending the concept of too-big-to-fail, better consumer protections, and provisions designed to rein in the shadow banking system. 

            “Implementation of this legislation will be challenging for regulators, and we stand ready to work with them to ensure that they have the information they need to make certain that the regulatory process is carried out as effectively and efficiently as possible.”

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            The American Bankers Association represents banks of all sizes and charters and is the voice for the nation’s $13 trillion banking industry and its two million employees. The majority of ABA’s members are banks with less than $165 million in assets. Learn more at aba.com.