An increasing number of bankers believe their regulatory examiners understand the mutual model, according to ABA’s annual survey of the nation’s mutual institutions, which was released today as the association kicks off its Mutual Community Bank Conference in Washington, D.C. Eighty-one percent of mutual banks reported that their exam teams understand the concept of mutuality, compared to 66 percent in 2013.
“We believe this improvement is a direct result of ABA’s advocacy, outreach by the agencies and concerted efforts by mutual bankers to build stronger relationships with their regulators,” said ABA EVP Bob Davis. “Mutual institutions remain a remarkably strong component of the community banking system.”
The outlook for growth and profitability was positive among most of the bankers surveyed — 98 percent expect commercial loan activity to increase or stay the same, while almost 90 percent expect residential mortgages and consumer loans to increase or stay the same.
