Bravo to the small banks!
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Regional lenders say interests not aligned with Wall Street
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JPMorgan chief said banks of all sizes need to work together
Thanks, but no thanks.
That was the response of small banks after Jamie Dimon called for a truce this week between large and small lenders. The JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief executive officer said the industry needs to work together, particularly in Washington, to achieve its policy goals with Congress and regulators.
“Just because Jamie Dimon says ‘let’s sing kumbaya’ doesn’t mean community banks are going to just line-up like a Greek chorus,” said Camden Fine, president of the Independent Community Bankers of America, a lobbying group for small banks. “This is just an attempt to link the interests of mega banks to community banks in order to mitigate the political heat that is on them right now. CEO’s of all the too-big-to-fail banks are clearly worried about the political climate.”
Attacks on Wall Street haven’t dissipated eight years after the financial crisis, with calls to break up the U.S.’s largest banks a constant refrain on the presidential campaign trail. Adding to the chorus are small banks across the country who fault big lenders for a slew of new rules they now must follow that affect everything from mortgages to capital requirements. The friction has prompted small lenders to form new trade groups to push their own agenda in Washington.