An op-ed by two North Dakota bankers yesterday welcomed S. 2155, the bipartisan regulatory reform bill in the Senate, and praised Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) for her leadership role in moving it forward.
“Despite the political noise and partisan bickering from Washington, something very unusual just happened in the U.S. Senate. North Dakotans should know about it,” wrote ABA members Christine Obenauer and Gary Petersen in the daily Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. “Why should you care about this rare moment of bipartisan unity? Because the commonsense, targeted changes included in the bill will allow North Dakota banks to better serve our customers and communities.”
Obenauer is president and CEO of Union State Bank, Hazen, N.D., and Peterson is chairman of Cornerstone Bank in Fargo. They praised Heitkamp for forging a deal that would expand customer access to mortgages and business loans. “North Dakotans should join with people across the country to support this bipartisan approach to solving problems and Heitkamp and other lawmakers who chose to get some ordinary Congressional work done, rather than simply following a partisan pack,” they wrote.
