End of 2017 Has Banking on Cusp of Great News

Read that headline again. You have waited a long time to see that. Good things out of D.C. are in sight. All those visits to D.C. by Louisiana bankers and your banking colleagues around the country are paying off. The Senate Banking Committee recently passed S. 2155, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act, which has many positive provisions that will help Louisiana banks. It is not all that we want but is a very good start. It has the support of enough democrats to assure final passage in the Senate. I watched part of the hearing and the democrats on the committee that support this bill made very strong emphatic statements that they understand changes need to be made in banking regulation to promote economic activity and consumer access. We are hopeful this is the first of many positive developments as we move into 2018. I understand the full Senate will vote on S. 2155 in January. The tax reform bill now being negotiated in Congress could be very welcome news for banks and their customers. While we continue to have specific concerns that we are communicating to our congressional delegation, we are hopeful. You also are seeing the change in federal regulatory leadership in D.C. at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Reserve and soon the FDIC. Since Congress passes laws directing banking agencies to fill in the blanks of what they pass through writing rules, there is significant opportunity for rules to be rewritten or interpreted differently that we should see play out over the coming years. Keep engaged and be part of the LBA effort to push for positive changes in 2018. 

All of us here at LBA are thankful to work for Louisiana bankers. Each of us comes to work with the focus to serve your needs as best we can. Bankers are the single most important factor in directing our work. The better we all work together, the better the outcome. Help us, keep us focused and know that we are grateful to be here at LBA.