their products and services free of regulatory constraints. They can avoid the heavy cost of compliance while ignoring the impact these imbalances have on our industry. At the end of the day, it’s the customer who will pay the ultimate price if unbalanced regulations are allowed to continue. They will face challenges when they can’t get an emergency loan during a pandemic, like we saw with the Paycheck Protection Program. They will struggle when their small business loan needs don’t meet standardized checkbox requirements. They will lose out when they don’t qualify for a mortgage because those same checkbox requirements apply in consumer environments. Right now, community banks step up in those situations, providing support based on the deep relationships they have in their communities. However, as more and more regulations come down on us, this ability to respond may be hindered, leaving our customers and communities without fair options. That’s why community banker engagement and grassroots actions are so incredibly important. We have to speak up and demonstrate how the lack of consistent regulation creates issues. We have to deliver stories that demonstrate the egregious acts committed by non-banks acting like banks. Congress needs to hear not just that community banks think it’s an unfair playing field, but to understand the harm this imbalance places on our communities. We encourage you to raise your voice and visit ICBA’s Action Center at icba.quorum.us for resources to help. In the meantime, we have a message for our imitators: If you want to be like us, you need to up your game to play by the same rules. Member FDIC Traci Oliver Eric Hallman Tara Koester Bankers’ Bank of the West We champion Community Banking bbwest.com | 800-873-4722 www.bbwest.com YOUR NEBRASKA RELATIONSHIP MANAGERS As a bankers’ bank we strive to help with every level of service and expertise. That is why we service anything from loan participations, merchant services, ATM/debit and much more, because we aim to answer your questions with, “…yes, we can do that too!” NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT BANKER 5
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