TBA Recent News Headlines

Many Senate Banking Committee members yesterday told Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner they are skeptical about the administration’s proposal in its regulatory reform plan to give the Federal Reserve new powers to oversee the largest financial institutions, and shut down any that become a risk to the system.
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In related news, yesterday’s House Financial Services Committee hearing featuring Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was postponed because of floor votes, and will be rescheduled at a later date. Panel Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass), however, has tentatively scheduled 10 full committee or subcommittee hearings on financial regulatory reform in June and July, with consideration of legislation slated for July 29 and 30.
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Traditional banks did not cause the crisis that the country has gone through during the past six months, ABA COO Diane Casey-Landry told moderator Gwen Ifill on the PBS “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” last night. But many of the administration’s regulatory reform proposals—including eliminating the thrift charter and creating a Consumer Financial Protection Agency—would “undermine traditional banks that have continued to lend throughout the crisis,” said Casey-Landry, who appeared on the television show with New York Times columnist Paul Krugman.
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Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee postponed for the third straight week consideration of a bill (S 257) that would require bankruptcy courts to disallow creditors’ claims arising from “high-cost consumer credit transactions.”
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To help bankers prepare for Get Smart About Credit Day on October 15, the ABA Education Foundation is hosting six, free, one-hour Webinars that will be held on July 21, July 22, August 12, August 13, September 9, and September 10.
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Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill), chairman of the House Financial Services’ Financial Institutions Subcommittee, is slated today to introduce a bill that would change the assessment system for capitalizing the Deposit Insurance Fund. The Bank Accountability and Risk Assessment Act of 2009 would expand the deposit insurance assessment base to include assets less tangible capital, create a systemic-risk premium for too-big-to-fail banks that pose a systemic threat to the financial system and permanently increase the deposit insurance limit to $250,000.
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Yesterday, ABA and 55 state bankers associations yesterday told all House members that they strongly oppose bills (HR 2695 and HR 2382) — introduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich) and Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt), respectively — that would regulate interchange fees, and they urged the lawmakers not to co-sponsor or support the measures.
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ICBA Independent Banker published the “ICBA 400” list in its June issue. The annual ICBA 400 highlights the Top 20 community bank performers in 20 asset and tax-status categories for 2008. Four Tennessee banks were on the lists.
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On Friday, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued amendments to accounting rules that will change the way banks account for securitizations and off-balance-sheet special-purpose entities starting in 2010.
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On Friday, 35 House Republicans signed a letter calling on President Obama to clarify what he plans to do with the $68 billion in Capital Purchase Program funds that 10 of the industry’s largest banks are returning to the Treasury Department.
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NASHVILLE – Commissioner Greg Gonzales has appointed Joyce Simmons to the position of Chief Regulatory Accountant at the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions. The position was established in response to the need for heightened oversight during the current challenges facing the financial industry.
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