Grassroots bankers recently descended on Washington for the Illinois Bankers Association’s first in-person legislative visit in three years! Dozens of bankers, both seasoned and newcomers, made the trip to Washington D.C. to represent the industry and be a voice for the needs of the banking community.
The IBA is extremely grateful for the many bankers who took the time to advocate for our industry. While there, the IBA team and its attending members met with all the regulatory agencies and visited the congressional delegation on Capitol Hill.
Attendees participated in regulatory meetings focused on the Community Reinvestment Act implementation, banking fee regulation, and Section 1071 small business loan reporting regulations. While this is certainly a challenging regulatory environment, our bankers were adamant about standing against the overregulation that may adversely impact customer service within the industry.
In Congress, we asked for members to sponsor the ACRE Act, which aims to level the playing field with farm credit and credit unions on business and agriculture loans. The IBA delegation also pushed back against the merchants’ efforts to regulate credit card transactions and asked for legislators to co-sponsor legislation that raises the threshold for compliance with the small business loan reporting threshold from 25 credit transactions up to 500 transactions.
This visit also served as a great opportunity to bring bankers together to connect and network with their industry peers. One of the trip’s unforgettable moments was a rooftop terrace reception courtesy of Citigroup. Attendees were treated to beautiful panoramic views of the nation's capital. A special thanks to the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago for hosting this networking dinner and sponsoring many new attendees with scholarships! We also want to thank the American Bankers Association for their support as regulatory meeting hosts and their contribution as breakfast sponsors.
We were excited to make a full return to D.C., and we thank our bankers and sponsors who made this important visit possible!
If you would like to know more about the issues we discussed, please contact Ben Jackson.