July 27, 2023

MBA: Urge Hawley, Schmitt to Oppose CCCA

MBA is urging bankers to contact Sens. Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt to oppose the Credit Card Competition Act as proponents of the bill attempt to attach it as an amendment to other measures.

As previously shared by MBA, the proposal would impose unnecessary routing restrictions and cap interchange fees on credit cards while increasing security and fraud risk.

The CCCA was reintroduced in the Senate and House in June after its backers failed last year to secure its passage, thanks to the efforts of bankers and consumers. Supporters, including big-box merchants, are working to insert language from the CCCA into other bills, as well as mandate a study of credit and debit card fees.

“This legislation falls under the jurisdiction of the Senate Banking Committee, and the committee has not held one single hearing or mark up of any credit routing legislation,” said MBA President and CEO Jackson Hataway. “Proponents of CCCA are skirting procedures to advance their agenda that has devasting consequences for consumers.”

MBA strongly urges banks and their customers to tell Hawley and Schmitt to oppose the CCCA.

Tell MO Reps to Support Resolution Condemning CFPB Section 1071

The House Financial Services Committee marked up a Congressional Review Act resolution today condemning the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s final rule implementing Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act. This rule requires financial institutions to collect and report credit application data for small businesses, including women-owned and minority-owned small businesses.

Under the rule, banks and other lenders that make at least 100 small-business loans in each of the two preceding calendar years will be required to collect 21 data points on credit applications from businesses that make $5 million or less in gross annual revenue. MBA has joined the banking industry in expressing concerns about the burden this rule could have on smaller institutions and credit for small businesses.

Missouri Reps. Blaine Luetkemeyer, Ann Wagner and Emanuel Cleaver serve on the House committee. MBA urges bankers to voice their support of the resolution to their representatives and also encourages your small business customers to express their support. The American Bankers Association also sent a letter of support for the resolution to House Financial Services Committee leaders ahead of the markup.

MBA, Bank Groups Seek Equal Treatment for Stablecoin Issuers, Banks

MBA joined the American Bankers Association and fellow state bank associations in opposing legislation that would allow state banking regulators to approve and supervise stablecoin issuers.

In a joint letter to House Financial Services Committee leaders, the associations said the proposed measure is flawed because it doesn’t apply the same level of federal oversight to state-licensed stablecoin issuers as is currently applied to state-chartered banks. They said the proposed oversight model is inefficient to provide the strong regulatory oversight needed for effective consumer protection and financial stability.

“While some have advocated for this role for state regulators by comparing it to the dual-banking system, the proposed state path for payment stablecoin issuers is not comparable to that of state-chartered banks,” the groups said. “Rather, the proposed oversight model is more like state-based money transmitter licenses, a model that is insufficient to mitigate the risks to financial stability and consumer protection posed by stablecoins.”

Federal oversight applied in an equivalent manner as that for state-chartered banks “would include state-licensed stablecoin issuers having a primary federal regulator that evaluates and approves or rejects license applications, establishes and enforces compliance with rules to ensure financial stability and consumer protection, and participates in ongoing supervision,” the associations said.

ABA also joined two national associations in a separate letter expressing concerns about the bill.

ABA: Bank Fees Play Important Economic Role

Fees charged by banks recover costs, encourage sustainable financial behavior, support the affordable pricing of financial services and are consistent with prudent risk management, the American Bankers Association said in a statement to the Senate Banking Committee. The committee held a hearing Wednesday on fees charged by several industries, including banks, for various purposes.

In its comments, ABA pushed back against accusations that bank fees amount to “junk fees” that harm consumers. It also urged lawmakers to conduct robust oversight of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s campaign against legal and fully disclosed fees, such as its proposed rulemaking on credit card late fees and late payments. ABA noted that CFPB’s late fee proposal will harm consumers and affect cost and access to credit.

“Limiting the ability of issuers to allocate the cost and risk of late payments to the late-paying population will force issuers to spread these costs across all consumer cardholders,” ABA said. “Moreover, without an effective incentive to pay on time, late payments and associated costs will increase. As a result, the cost of credit will increase, credit availability will drop, and rewards and other credit card features will decline, and some may disappear.”

Credit cards are widely popular financial products that provide valuable consumer benefits, ABA said.

“Unlike the bureau’s mischaracterization of late fees, consumers understand late fees and recognize the importance of late fees in promoting responsible consumer behavior and more efficiently allocating costs,” ABA said.

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  • Security Bank of Kansas City has openings for BSA/fraud prevention assistant, Community Reinvestment Act officer and treasury sales officer.
  • Community State Bank of Missouri in Bowling Green seeks an experienced compliance officer with demonstrated knowledge and skills in Bank Secrecy Act. 
  • Clay County Savings Bank in Liberty seeks a treasurer/controller to lead a team of accounting professionals in their daily activities.
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  • First State Community Bank in Farmington seeks an audit specialist to plan and perform various financial and operational audits to evaluate the system of internal controls to mitigate relevant risks.
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  • Midwest Independent BankersBank in Jefferson City is seeking a chief operations officer to plan, direct and coordinate the operations division.
  • The Hamilton Bank in northwest Missouri has an opportunity for a commercial loan officer to manage loan applications, assess creditworthiness and build strong relationships with clients in the agricultural sector.
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