Pub. 3 2013-2014 Issue 3

O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S - H E L P I N G C O L O R A D A N S R E A L I Z E D R E A M S November • December 2013 15 Too Big to Fail vs. Too Small to Thrive R emember the catch phrase “Too Big to Fail?” Well, the new catch phrase is “Too Small to Survive.” During the past year, I have had the opportunity to travel around the country and visit with bankers, regulators, state banking associations and industry experts. I have heard the same refrain over and over, “Community banks are becoming too small to thrive and survive.” Community bankers are concerned with the price of compliance brought on by the onslaught of new regulations that have been implemented or that are now being proposed and implemented in the near future. While the largest banks have gotten even bigger andmore profitable, community banks find it increas- ingly tough to survive, in part because they must commit more of their limited resources to comply with new regulations stemming from the global near-meltdown. Compliance costs as a share of operating expenses are two “Community banks must look beyond traditional methods of managing compliance and scale their functions and expense by utilizing the same economies of scale that the mega banks enjoy.” FEATURE ARTICLE SCOTT DAUGHERTY President and General Counsel, Compliance Alliance Inc.  TOO BIG TO FAIL  continued on page 16