White House Report on Impact of Financial Reform of Community Banks

The White House Council of Economic Advisers released a report analyzing the impact of regulations issued pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act on community banks, defined generally as banks with assets less than $10 billion. The report disputed claims that increased regulations have negatively impacted smaller-size institutions, noting areas where community banks have remained strong since the Dodd-Frank Act. The report also describes certain long-standing structural challenges that precede the Dodd-Frank Act which community banks have continued to face, and noted the “importance of implementing Dodd-Frank in a way that allows community banks to compete on a level playing field.” In response, Republicans on the US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee published a blog post countering the assertions in the White House report, and posted statements from various community bankers and other small financial services operators commenting on the negative ways in which Dodd-Frank Act reforms have impacted their respective institutions.

View text of the White House Report.

View the HFSC blog post.