Pub. 8 2018-2019 Issue 4

6 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 A Word From CBA... S uch is how one person described the political climate for the banking industry, following 2018’smidtermelections. Nationally, President Trump produced pronounced voter turnout for and against him. That said, since 1974, the president’s party has lost an average of 23 seats in midterm elections and 2018 stayed the course. Democrats gained the majority in the U.S. House – something Colorado's delegation echoed with Jason Crow defeating incumbent representative Mike Coffman inHouse District 6 – while republicans retained control of, and expanded their majority in, the U.S. Senate. That means consensus-building is in order, as is strong bipartisanship to ensure laws are enacted. It is expected that health care, infrastructure and immi - gration will dominate activity in both chambers. However, achieving favorable outcomes on those and other issues in the House are likely to prove challenging and will require a great deal of compromise on any proposalsmoving through Congress. “We are likely to see robust debate in the House on a broad swath of issues and an unclear picture of what bipartisan legislation can actually be advanced,” the American Bankers Association opined, following the election. One of the most significant shifts will be in the leadership of the House Financial Services Committee. With the retirement of term-limited Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), the com - mittee would have experienced a leadership change regardless of the shift in party control. However, the change to expected chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) will present one of the more pronounced shifts of legislative priorities in years. Already in October, Waters (D-California), introduced a bill that would reverse several changes made to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. And, Waters has said that when she becomes chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, she will rein in easing of banking regulation. "Make no mistake, come January, in this committee the days of this committee weakening regulations and putting our economy once again at risk of another financial crisis will come to an end," Waters said. As 2018 drew to a close, the Federal Reserve defended its proposals to relax rules governing bank capital requirements and leverage ratios in the face of bipartisan opposition from Congress, backed by Republicans who sought to push forward with reforms to the Dodd-Frank Act before the Democrats took over the House in January. It is important to note that analysis indicates thatWaters-led Democrats on the committee may find common ground with Republicans on data security, anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act reform, GSE reform and cannabis banking issues. In the Senate, Banking Committee Chairman, Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), retained his position, following Sen. Chuck Grass - ley’s (D-Iowa) announcement that he intended to take over leadership of the Senate Finance Committee. Potential policy areas the committee might work on, including housing finance reform and access to capital. Crapo said inNovember that he hopes “big data” and privacy issues will be a major focus for the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee next year. “I think there’s a need for major legislation to give people the tools to protect their privacy and to opt out of this data collection,” he said. CBA and others have already begun work in the regulatory agencies to develop relationships with new leaders and tomove toward additional regulatory reform that does not need con- gressional action. Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting will address Colorado bankers during our annual summit on May 30, 2019. Invitations have been extended to other regu - lators and we hope they will plan on Colorado banker visits in the near future. While uncertainty looms, you can bank on the fact that CBA and its fellow trade organizations enjoy a long history of working successfully with both parties to ensure success of public policies that benefit banks, their customers and their communities. n Don Childears President and CEO “WE ARE SURROUNDED BY UNCERTAINTY ON ALL FRONTS.”