Archive: CHOICE Act mark-up is underway

This morning, the House Financial Services Committee began considering H.R. 10, the Financial CHOICE Act. Introduced by House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), H.R. 10 is the chairman’s vision of the effort to “repeal and replace” Dodd-Frank.

The Independent Community Bankers of America is having its annual ICBA Capital Summit in Washington, D.C., right now, and we want to expand on a story we included in Monday’s OBA Update.

“Yesterday, we published a photo of the president and vice president that was taken by Edmond banker Jill Castilla,” OBA President and CEO Roger Beverage said. “I didn’t see two other Oklahoma bankers in the pictures. These bankers were also present during the meeting with the President.

“It’s my error that I did not also include recognition of Chris Jordan and Bill Croak, both of whom were also in the audience. I promise it wasn’t intentional; I just didn’t see them in the photos of the event that were sent to me.

“Chris Jordan is the new ICBA secretary. Bill Croak is the ICBA state chairman, and both of these Oklahoma bankers were also with the president yesterday. Chris Jordan is president and CEO of Farmers State Bank, Stigler, and Bill is vice chairman and president of FNB Community Bank, Midwest City.

“Importantly, today both Chris and Bill will join several other Oklahoma bankers (including Jill Castilla, but I don’t know who else) attending the ICBA Capital Summit in Washington to visit the Oklahoma Delegation and to further make the case for regulatory relief. I hope they will also be involved in the mark-up process to advance H.R. 10, and get it to the floor for a vote. I’m not sure what will happen then, but at least it will be out of the House. That’s a start!”

This legislation – H.R. 10 – is the first effort in this (115th) Congress to move financial reform legislation through the House of Representatives.

“The message delivered by the OBA and the ICBA/CBAO is the same,” Beverage said. “We simply must have regulatory relief for traditional community banks and the nation’s economy. This unified message is one more example of working together between and among the various bankers associations across the country.”

Together We Are Stronger!

James Ballentine at the ABA told Beverage his association is “expecting the committee to consider this bill well into the evening and perhaps into tomorrow.”

“Although no amendments have been officially filed,” Ballentine said, “we expect Democrats to offer at least 40 amendments with the possibility of offering up to 140 amendments. We expect the majority of these amendments to be directed toward saving the CFPB and Volcker rule.”

“We believe our message has been clear to Rep. Lucas (Rep. Frank Lucas is a member of the HFS Committee) in which we have asked him to support for the TAILOR Act (H.R. 1116), the Portfolio Lending bill (H.R. 2226) and oppose any amendment offered to strike the Durbin amendment from the CHOICE Act,” Beverage said. “Of course, things might change during the mark-up but bankers across the country have weighed in and made their opposition to this idea known.

“I’m confident the Oklahoma bankers in Washington right now will make the same case as we made in March,” Beverage said. “And – once again – thanks to Chris Jordan, Bill Croak and Jill Castilla for representing traditional community banks and what they mean to our state to the president, and for remembering that Together We Are Stronger!”