Washington, D.C. (Feb. 5, 2025) — With the House Financial Services Committee’s first hearing of the 119th Congress focused on community banking policy, the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) today told the panel that the new Congress and administration present an opportunity to transform the regulatory environment for community banks to promote locally based economic growth.
Testifying before the committee as the only national association that exclusively represents the nation’s community banks, ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey outlined ICBA’s proposals to implement policies that will ensure a positive future for community banks and support prosperity in every corner of the country. Romero Rainey also thanked Chairman French Hill for crafting a set of banking principles to guide policymaking and regulatory oversight in the 119th Congress, which ICBA is committed to realizing.
“The new Congress and administration present an opportunity to transform the regulatory environment to support community banking and economic growth in rural, suburban, and urban markets,” Romero Rainey said. “We look forward to working with the Financial Services Committee in the coming weeks to leverage and amplify the unique and extraordinary value our great community banks bring to local economies.”
Noting that community banks reinvest local deposits into local credit for the communities they serve—with more than 1,000 community banks in operation for over a century—Romero Rainey cited the importance of the industry’s outsized small-business and agricultural lending as well as its responsible innovation.
To guide policymakers in reforming community banking policies to promote sustained growth, Romero Rainey called on Congress to:
Advance tiered regulations through a comprehensive update of regulatory thresholds.
Provide relief from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s 1071 small-business data collection and reporting requirements through House Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Williams’ 1071 Repeal to Protect Small Business Lending Act.
Promote the formation of de novo community banks through Rep. Andy Barr’s Promoting New Bank Formation Act (H.R. 478).
Promote and strengthen community development financial institutions and minority depository institutions.
Support equivalent supervision, oversight, and taxation for financial services providers, including credit unions and Farm Credit System lenders.
Strengthen financial consumers by ending mortgage “trigger leads” harassment, closing the industrial loan company loophole, helping community banks eliminate check fraud, opposing credit card routing mandates, protecting consumer data from the CFPB’s 1033 rule, and more.
ICBA’s complete testimony is available on the ICBA website. With the Trump administration and 119th Congress offering a historic opportunity to significantly improve federal financial services policy, ICBA’s “Repair, Reform, and Thrive” plan and open letter to the 119th Congress outline comprehensive reforms to address the nation’s policy challenges.
About ICBA
The Independent Community Bankers of America® has one mission: to create and promote an environment where community banks flourish. We power the potential of the nation’s community banks through effective advocacy, education, and innovation.
As local and trusted sources of credit, America’s community banks leverage their relationship-based business model and innovative offerings to channel deposits into the neighborhoods they serve, creating jobs, fostering economic prosperity, and fueling their customers’ financial goals and dreams. For more information, visit ICBA’s website at icba.org.
