More than 100 community bankers and staff from the Independent Community Bankers of America® (ICBA) on May 1, 2017 met with President Donald Trump and other top administration officials at the White House as part of the 2017 ICBA Capital Summit. In an exclusive meeting between ICBA and President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, NEC Director Gary Cohn and Small Business Administration chief Linda McMahon, Trump said the administration is focused on addressing regulatory burdens to help community banks lend to small businesses.
The meeting, which follows a separate White House meeting with community bankers on March 9, involved community bankers on ICBA’s Executive Committee, board of directors, Federal Delegate Board, and policy committees. At the May 1st meeting, the ICBA community bankers presented President Trump with a red “Make Community Banking Great Again” cap.
More than 1,000 community bankers are in Washington this week for ICBA’s Capital Summit to discuss critical issues facing community banks and the communities they serve, such as excessive regulatory burdens that affect their ability to serve their customers, make loans and create jobs. The industry’s solution to the regulatory burden problem—ICBA’s Plan for Prosperity—is a pro-growth platform to eliminate onerous and unnecessary regulatory burdens that inhibit lending and innovation.
The summit features meetings this week with policymakers, remarks from speakers such as Secretary Mnuchin and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), and today’s first-ever ICBA Future of Banking Symposium, which offers insights into the future of the rapidly changing community banking industry.
“The nation’s community banks are dedicated to fostering local economic and job growth by serving the consumers and small businesses in their communities,” said ICBA Chairman Scott Heitkamp, president and CEO of ValueBank Texas in Corpus Christi, Texas. “Unfortunately, one-size-fits-all regulations are preventing community banks from lending and promoting prosperity at the local level. ICBA looks forward to continuing to work with President Trump, his administration and Congress to advance common-sense reforms that will help unleash the economic power of community banks.”