ACB: Press Releases

Contact:	Robert Schmermund (202) 857-3104 Jim Eberle (202) 857-3145	Jim Eberle (202) 857-3145 (work) (703) 893-2593 (home) [email protected]	For Immediate Release October 5, 2000 #00-109
E-mail: [email protected]

AMERICA’S COMMUNITY BANKERS URGES OTS TO REVISE, ELIMINATE NEW REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — America’s Community Bankers has urged the Office of Thrift Supervision to revise or eliminate proposed changes to the Thrift Financial Report, saying the agency has significantly underestimated the amount of time required to comply and is imposing an unnecessary and costly regulatory burden on savings associations.

Most of the changes should not take effect in the first quarter of 2001 as proposed, ACB said, because significant systems changes would be necessary, and several items need clarification.

ACB said it opposes the addition of reporting requirements on subprime lending because there is no agreed-upon definition of subprime lending among the banking regulators, and the agency already has the tools to supervise and examine institutions engaged in such lending.

The proposed reporting, ACB said, may stifle special subprime programs that serve the unmet credit needs of communities and community development initiatives or that may be used to qualify a borrower with credit problems.

ACB also objected to the collection of data on thrift holding companies because data is already collected by OTS in other reports. Similarly, reporting the market value of Federal Home Loan Bank structured borrowings “would constitute an unreasonable regulatory burden,” ACB said.

The lack of confidentiality for some of the proposed additional items, especially data on high loan-to-value loans, is of deep concern, ACB said.

Comment Letter is LINKED

America’s Community Bankers is the national trade association committed to shaping the future of banking by being the innovative industry leader strengthening the competitive position of community banks. To learn more about ACB, visit www.AmericasCommunityBankers.com.

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