Following this week’s introduction of the Financial Choice Act, 52 state bankers associations wrote to House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling to commend him for taking the first step toward addressing the negative impacts of the Dodd-Frank Act. A markup of the bill is scheduled to take place in the committee next week.
The associations expressed concern over the increase in bank consolidations following the passage of Dodd-Frank, noting that since the law was passed in 2010, a total of 1,917 banks have merged or closed. While they acknowledged that additional factors like economic conditions have also played into the decline in the number of financial institutions, they noted that it would be “shortsighted” to assume that new regulations have not contributed to the decline.
“Any law as broad as Dodd-Frank — one that impacts nearly every consumer and marketplace in this country — must be re-examined and modified when necessary to limit the negative impact it has had on banks, particularly community banks, and the customers that they serve,” the groups wrote.
