ABA President and CEO Frank Keating discussed the challenges community banks are facing in serving their customers’ needs in an appearance on Bloomberg TV’s “Bloomberg Surveillance” this morning — and he emphasized the indispensable role banks play in meeting the credit needs of their hometowns.
“There is no way you’re going to have financial services that you need and want — with a focus on the goodness of a town and the vitality of a community — without a community bank,” Keating said. When asked by a host about the ongoing consolidation of community banks, Keating noted that “it’s accelerating.” The economy remains soft and that young people are having a harder time qualifying for credit under newer regulations, he explained, and “the costs of compliance are really oppressive.”
