An industry request to ease federal regulations on community banks gains traction among Oklahoma lawmakers.
"Whether it be in our schools; not-for-profits; businesses that ... may not be able to get a loan anywhere else; those startup businesses; the mom-and-pops that are out there trying to start their career, start their livelihood; it's community banks that are the ones that are willing to take the risk on your neighbors and my neighbors," said Rep. Scott Martin.
Martin works for Republic Bank and Trust. He said community banks are complying with regulations that should only be for “too big to fail” institutions.
"That's caused them to spend money on more staff for regulation, oversight, those kinds of things when, instead, they could've been using their resources to invest back into our communities, which is what we're all about," Martin said.
The House adopted a resolution endorsing the Independent Community Bankers of America’s deregulatory “Plan for Prosperity. Rep. David Perryman pushed back against the industry backing.
"This same resolution is appearing in many other states that I'm sure that the community banks of Oklahoma don't have a whole lot of weight to throw around," Perryman said.
The group’s plan calls for exemptions to capital and federal audit requirements, making fair lending lawsuits tougher to win and changes to several other regulations it says are meant for big banks. The Oklahoma Senate is also considering the resolution.
