Independent Banker - September 2021 - 55

hile the political landscape in Washington, D.C., has
changed considerably over the past year, ICBA continues
to work with regulators and lawmakers on
both sides of the aisle for the betterment of community banks
and their customers.
ICBA believes Washington is willing to give serious consideration
to community bankers' stances on key legislative and
regulatory issues because " community banking is bipartisan, "
says Aaron Stetter, ICBA's executive vice president of policy
and political operations.
" Generally speaking, our positions tend to have broad bipartisan
support, " he says. " We look forward to advancing those
positions that will not only benefit community banks, but also
the small businesses and communities they represent. "
ICBA needs your help as a community banker to advance
these common sense reforms. Here are some of the top regulatory
and legislative issues that ICBA is fighting for.
A federal safe harbor
ICBA supports the Secure and Fair
Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, which
would create a safe harbor from federal
Closing the ILC loophole
ICBA believes Congress
needs to act to close the
industrial loan company
sanctions for financial institutions that serve cannabisrelated
businesses in states where cannabis is legal.
" It's an incredibly important public safety issue
to allow cannabis-related businesses access to the
banking system, so they can avoid dealing exclusively
in cash, " Stetter says. " Community banks need this
new law because they also serve ancillary businesses
like accountants, law firms, HVAC companies,
plumbers and electricians that do business with
cannabis-related businesses. "
While the House version passed in April (H.R. 2215),
the Senate is in disagreement over how to proceed
with respect to broader cannabis-related matters,
says ICBA's Brian Cooney, senior vice president and
legislative counsel.
" The progressive leaders don't think it goes far
enough. They want more social justice reforms,
including legalizing marijuana at the federal level and
expunging marijuana-related convictions on people's
records, " he says. " But when those provisions are added
... it makes the legislation much more controversial.
We're hoping those proposals get considered
separately, and then the Senate can revisit the SAFE
Banking Act, which has strong bipartisan support. "
(ILC) loophole in the Bank Holding
Company Act, which allows fintechs
and other commercial companies
to own ILCs chartered by a handful
of states without being subject to
consolidated federal supervision.
" ICBA has been opposing
[Japanese e-commerce giant]
Rakuten from getting an ILC
charter, " says
Christopher Cole,
ICBA executive
vice president
and senior
regulatory
counsel. " In the
meantime, the FDIC
in December came out in favor of
ILC parent companies, but we're
still advocating for the closing of
the ILC loophole in the law, and
we're trying to get something done
legislatively to change this. You'll
see more about this next year. "
independentbanker.org Q 55
http://www.independentbanker.org
Independent Banker - September 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - September 2021
