ABA Banking Journal - January 2011 - (Page 14)
ABA Community BAnking | cOpING wIth dOdd-fRANK Eroding revenues, rising costs Community bankers not only see existing income streams drying up, but hold off on exploring new ones By Steve cOcheO, execUtIve edItOR An ABA BAnking JournAl roundtABle ‘D 14 | ABA BANKING JOURNAL | january 2011 odd-Frank is like distant thunder,” says California banker Greg Patton. “You’re afraid of it, but you have no way to do anything about it.” Carolyn Mroz chooses another natural analogy: “The Dodd-Frank Act is the 800-pound gorilla in the room. Everyone knows that it’s there, but no one knows what the gorilla is going to do. So you’re kind of in limbo.” Patton is president and CEO at $100 million-assets Sierra Vista Bank, Folsom, Calif., and Mroz, president and CEO of $157 million-assets Bay-Vanguard Federal Savings Bank, Baltimore. The pair were among six bank and savings institution members of the America’s Community Bankers Council who met with ABA BJ in midNovember for a roundtable discussion regarding concerns and early strategies for dealing with the mammoth legislation. The six leaders met before most of the first wave of Dodd-Frank proposed regulations had come out. Of those that have been published so far, such as the Federal Reserve’s debit interchange proposal, the only “satisfaction” has been confirmation that Dodd-Frank really is turning out to be as bad as community bankers expected. “In talking to my congressional representatives, they were so excited by it, they were tone deaf,” complains Kevin McCarthy, president and CEO at $450 million-assets Newport Federal Savings Bank, Newport, R.I. McCarthy’s pleas that representatives look at the impact on community banks were ignored. “I’ve looked at community banks as the good guys through this
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