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 27, 2005 #05-80
E-mail: [email protected]

ACB STATEMENT ON HURRICANE-RELATED LEGISLATION

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Statement by Robert R. Davis, executive vice president and managing director of government relations, America’s Community Bankers, on actions in the House today to help banks in the hurricane areas:

America’s Community Bankers commends three actions in the House today to help community banks in the hurricane disaster areas.

ACB applauds the House for overwhelmingly adopting H.R. 3945, a bill by Rep. Richard Baker (R-La.) that would give federal banking regulators the flexibility to forbear on capital and net worth standards for banks experiencing financial difficulty because of Hurricane Katrina. (Also today, the House Financial Services Committee reported H.R. 4146, a bill by Baker that extends the provisions of H.R. 3945 to banks affected by Hurricanes Rita and Wilma.)

The bill gives regulators the statutory backing to work with banks in the disaster areas to ensure that they will not be unfairly penalized because of circumstances beyond their control.

We also applaud the House Financial Services Committee for favorably reporting H.R. 3909, the bill by Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-Fla.) to indemnify banks that cash checks for hurricane survivors.

ACB strongly supports both bills and urges Congress to act quickly to enact these important measures.

The Baker bills would also express the sense of Congress that federal regulators should continue to work with banks and credit unions in the disaster area to facilitate the cashing of federal government assistance and benefits checks. The bill also would waive Federal Reserve fees for certain services, and permit institutions to exceed the leverage limit when assets increase because of an influx of insurance proceeds.

The Brown-Waite bill would provide indemnification for bad checks of up to $2,000 that were cashed for evacuees without proper identification in the initial disaster areas as well as areas where hurricane survivors were relocated. The program would be funded with Federal Reserve System surplus funds, not taxpayer money.

Obviously, community banks are already extending a helping hand to survivors of the hurricanes by cashing checks for customers and noncustomers alike. But there is a need for banks to be made whole for any losses that are incurred for doing the right thing.

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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