American Bankers Association President and CEO Rob Nichols appeared on CNBC on Friday to discuss the Federal Reserve dividend litigation and the ABA Blueprint for Growth.
He emphasized to host Rick Santelli that ABA pursued litigation only after exhausting all other legislative and regulatory options. “It’s an important principle, because we believe it was an illegal taking,” he said. ABA and Seattle-based Washington Federal are currently challenging the 2015 dividend cut in the Court of Federal Claims. In 2016, banks with more than $10 billion in assets lost $1.14 billion to this taking, and the amount is expected to balloon to $17 billion over 10 years.
Nichols also discussed the industry’s efforts to relieve regulatory burdens and generate stronger growth. “There are a number of changes — regulatory and legislative in the form of fixes to Dodd-Frank — that we believe can help the economy grow at a faster clip,” he explained.
