This story appeared in Bank Digest.
According to a Senate Banking Committee release, “Community banks are big winners in financial reform.” The release states that the reform measure imposes greater costs and restrictions on the superbanks, reining in the abuses that caused the crisis, but allows community banks to continue serving their communities. For the first time, the release continues, community banks will no longer have to compete with unregulated non-banks. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will have the ability to adopt rules that prohibit unfair or deceptive practices, and it will have the power to enforce these rules on large banks, mortgage companies, and major players in the shadow banking industry. R. Michael Menzies, Chairman of the Independent Community Bankers of America, stated on March 15, 2010, “This financial and economic crisis has clearly demonstrated the need for meaningful financial regulatory reform that protects America's taxpayers and the integrity of our financial system. The best way to accomplish this is by ending too-big-to-fail and regulating and enforcing rules on the unregulated financial players.”