Independent Banker - March 2018 - 32

Your
biggest
fan.
BKD is a proud
sponsor of the 2018
ICBA Convention.
Visit us at Booth 627
to learn how our
lineup of accounting
and consulting pros
help community
banks cover their
bases on risk
management, slide
past compliance
challenges and
knock their growth
goals out of the park.
Everyone needs a
trusted advisor.
Who's yours?
in December with a bipartisan 16-7
vote, sending it to the Senate fl oor.
At presstime, the Senate hadn't yet
passed the widely popular legislation,
but there appear to be more
than enough votes to approve it.
In fact, the bill has 20 original
cosponsors, including fi ve additional
Democrats and Independent Sen.
Angus King of Maine. Many other
Democrats have signed on in support
of the bill-indicating it has well over
the 60-vote supermajority it needs
in the Senate. With so much partisan
acrimony in Washington, it appears
intentionally killed the bill-but also
for attempts by the largest banks to
extend the scope of relief to Wall
Street. ICBA and community bankers
refused to let the megabanks jeopardize
this vitally important legislation,
which is why we continue advocating
a clean bill.
This legislation is substantial and
achieves numerous provisions long
sought by ICBA that would:
» increase exemption thresholds
for Home Mortgage Disclosure Act
(HMDA) reporting
It appears that
supporting the
nation's community
banks is just about
the only thing
Republicans and
Democrats can
agree on.
bkd.com/fs | @bkdFS
that supporting the nation's community
banks is just about the only
thing Republicans and Democrats
can agree on.
Of course, community bankers are
used to seeing substantial regulatory
reforms advance through committee
or even through the full House of
Representatives. But these measures
too often fail to achieve fi nal passage
in the Senate. This time appears to
be different.
The forging of the bill by a bipartisan
coalition provided an opening
for the broad support we see today.
These allies wisely resisted any
changes to the bill while the committee
marked it up in December
to ensure it retained its focus on
common-sense, popular provisions
focused on community banks.
This goes not just for poisonpill
amendments that would have
expanded excessive regulations-and
» provide " Qualifi ed Mortgage "
status for portfolio mortgage loans at
most community banks
» exempt certain community bank
loans from escrow requirements
» simplify community bank capital
requirements
» create a short-form call report for
use in the fi rst and third quarters by
certain well-rated banks
» expand eligibility for the 18-month
regulatory examination cycle
» ease appraisal requirements to
facilitate mortgage credit in local
communities
» exempt most community banks
from the Volcker Rule
» expand access to the Federal
Reserve's Small Bank Holding Company
Policy Statement to help more
community banks build capital
» improve regulatory treatment
of reciprocal deposits and certain
municipal securities
http://www.bkd.com/fs
Independent Banker - March 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - March 2018
