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Congressman Bob Latta (R-OH) hosted Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) and officials from local banks to discuss regulatory issues that banking institutions are facing at forums held in Findlay and Defiance on Tuesday morning. Luetkemeyer serves as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance on the Financial Services Committee. The Congressmen both gave updates on current action in Congress to help community banks and reduce burdensome regulations, especially those imposed by Dodd-Frank legislation that was signed into law in 2010.

“Our communities were built thanks to the help of banks on Main Street that know the needs of their neighbors and provide the capital and services that small businesses and families thrive on,” said Latta. “Unfortunately, we are seeing the death of many of these banks due to one-size-fits-all approaches from this Administration and overzealous regulators. I want to thank Chairman Luetkemeyer for coming to Northwest Ohio to listen to these concerns and to share what is being done at the Congressional level to try to relieve the burden that these banks are facing.”

Speaking to the group, Congressman Luetkemeyer pointed out that since the passage of Dodd-Frank, the country is losing one bank per day on average due to closures and acquisitions. He also pointed out that banks offering free checking to customers have dwindled from 75% to 37%. Both can be attributed to financial and administrative burdens imposed by a more rigid regulatory structure.

In addition to raising concerns with the increased regulations, participants in the forum also pointed to uncertainty and costly delays from Federal agencies that are making it more difficult to expand services and serve their customers.

The two forums were held at Owens Community College in Findlay and Kissner’s Restaurant in Defiance.

Congressman Luetkemeyer (at the podium) and Congressman Latta listen to a question at the Findlay banking forum

Luetkemeyer and Latta addressing the group at the Defiance event

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