Posted by Jaimie McFarlin - The June 16th hearing, “The Dodd-Frank Act: Impact on Small Business Lending,” was called by the House Small Business Committee’s Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Capital Access and Tax. The hearing was sprinkled with mixed reviews of the Dodd-Frank Act, while highlighting the importance of considering its effects on small business during the rule-making process. The House Republicans have continued efforts to repeal or weaken this sweeping Wall Street reform bill moved by the Democratic Congress last year.
The hearing was led by Chairman Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) and called representatives from three financial institutions and William Daley, the Legislative and Policy Director of Main Street Alliance. The testimonies from Thomas Boyle of the State Bank of Countryside, Mark Sekula of the Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union, and Greg M. Ohlendorf of First Community Bank and Trust echoed a similar sentiment concerning the burdening cost of compliance, the overreach of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and the restrictions on lending dollars and liquidity. Ohlendorf particularly hailed the debit interchange, or “Durbin,” amendment, placing a cap on the debit card swipe fee collected by banks, as the most troubling aspect of the Dodd-Frank Act. The NASE has written about this amendment in previous editions of Washington Watch.
Daley, the former mayor of Olympia, Washington, testified to the Dodd-Frank Act’s benefits for small business, specifically swipe-fee reforms, the CFPB, and the restored focus on traditional lending. He later referenced tactics, such as repealing legislation that offers interest on reserve dollars, to tap into the $1.2 trillion in bank reserves as a means to increase the availability of capital.
Read more about the hearing here.