 Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) responding to Friends of Traditional Banking
We celebrated our victory with Dean Heller in Nevada last fall, but I bet some bankers who joined Friends of Traditional Banking and supported Scott Brown in Massachusetts in 2012 thought that Elizabeth Warren's victory was a loss for Traditional Banking. NOT SO FAST! She heard us and others demanding more rational treatment of banks! This PROVES that a powerful concept like Friends of Traditional Banking can actually CHANGE the dynamic for banking in Washington, D.C.
This month American Banker ran the story "Elizabeth Warren, Champion of Small Banks" pointing out that she "has already raised concerns about the need for a two-tiered regulatory system and pressed regulators to pull back on applying Basel III standards to smaller banks."
Warren has joined banking allies as a cosponsor of S 731, the Basel II Case Act, and has so far refused to get on board with S 968, a bill by Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) that would greatly enhance credit union power at the expense of traditional banks. Hopefully as Friends of Traditional Banking continues to grow, members of Congress like Warren will continue to be friendlier in how they treat banks.
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"This is what we need to influence Congress" says Texas Bankers Association CEO
J. Eric Sandberg Jr., President and CEO of the Texas Bankers Association pointed out that Political Action Committees alone aren't enough to change how Congress treats bankers. "Traditional PACs are just not enough," he said.
Sandberg said that traditional PACs equate to small contributions into many political races. The Friends of Traditional Banking model is a much better one because it is many political contributions targeted into just a couple of key races, resulting in big dollars and big influence. "PACs are effective at opening doors," Sandberg said. "But they are not enough in terms of influencing a race." Sandberg has joined Friends of Traditional Banking's advisory board because he sees the effectiveness in targeting key races. Click here to see what Eric Sandberg and other banking leaders are saying about this powerful way to change how Congress treats bankers (three minute YouTube video).
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