Senators from Maine and Oklahoma are calling on their colleagues to consider ways to ease the regulatory burden on small community banks.
Sens. Angus King, a Maine independent, and James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican, say small banks and credit unions are saddled with increasingly high compliance costs that are the result of outdated rules. They have asked the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee to hold hearings on a proposal they believe would bring relief.
King and Lankford say many small businesses are relying on home equity lines of credit and larger banks for credits as smaller banks consolidate. That means there is less small business credit available.
The senators say structural differences exist between small and large banks, and regulations should reflect that.