Pub. 5 2015-2016 Issue 2

O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S - H E L P I N G C O L O R A D A N S R E A L I Z E D R E A M S September • October 2015 5 Full Speed Ahead for Regulatory Reform On the heels of the Dodd-Frank Act’s fifth anniversary, it is full speed ahead toward regulatory reform for bankers. Legislators at our nation’s top level are working with bank advocates across the country to tweakwhat some have called the most sweeping financial reform in U.S. history, to make it do what it intended. U.S. Representative Scott Tipton, (R., Colo.) has intro- duced the Taking Account of Institutions with Low Oper- ation Risk (TAILOR) Act, which creates a method and a requirement for bank regulators to tailor regulations to fit the business models and risk profiles of various kinds of banks, report their compliance annually to Congressional committees and apply the bill to regulations adopted in the last five years. His proposal joins Senator Shelby's Financial Regulatory Improvement Act of 2015, which extends the examination cycle for well managed community banks; reduces the burden of unnecessary privacy notice paperwork; helps rural customers receive mortgages; provides a safe harbor for mortgages held in a bank's portfolio; reduces unnec- essary costs from the stress testing for community banks and establishes a process for federal regulators to evaluate institutions to determine whether to designate them as systemically important. Upon the TAILOR Act’s introduction, Tipton said, “Regulations should be tailored to meet the risk profile and business model of specific institutions to prevent unneces- sary costs and burdens to those institutions, while ensuring that government regulators are able to better focus their resources to provide oversight and ensure a safe and reliable financial marketplace.” CBA President and CEODon Childears helped to author the measure, which would do away with the “one size fits all” – or as we see it, the “one size fits none” approach to regulation. "While none of us knows how the regulatory reform effort will play out, this bill is a key element - along with regulatory relief on specified issues, particularly portfolio loans deemed QM compliant," Childears said. ABA issued a statement supporting the bill, as well. "ABA strongly supports the TAILOR Act of 2015, legislation introduced by Representative Scott Tipton (R-Colo.) that would require regulators to consider bank risk profiles and business models when taking regulatory actions. This type of smarter regulationwould helpAmerica's hometown banks by freeing up resources so they can better serve their cus- tomers and communities. We appreciate this bill'smeasured approach that empowers regulators to focus on real risks rather than compliance exercises.” Bankers and their advocates must work hard to see these changes to fruition, particularly in the face of staunch opposition from those who don’t want to see any changes made to Dodd-Frank. We know banks – particularly smaller institutions – are struggling under the weight of the ava- lanche of new, indiscriminate and impractical regulations, and our customers and communities are suffering for it. We are going to need your help when the time comes making calls, to let Washington know this really matters. We hope you will be ready and willing to assist.  Mark Bower Home State Bank CBA Chairman