[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 112 (Thursday, July 23, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H8590]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   CONSUMER FINANCE PROTECTION AGENCY

  (Mr. BACHUS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. BACHUS. Madam Speaker, I received a letter yesterday from a lady, 
an officer in a small community bank in Alabama. I wanted to share what 
she said with my colleagues.
  She expresses her concerns that many community bankers are expressing 
about the legislation under consideration by the House Financial 
Services Committee to create a new government bureaucracy, otherwise 
known as the Consumer Finance Protection Agency.
  Here's what she says: I strongly support consumer protections. In 
fact, my bank's competitive edge rests with our customers' implicit 
trust that we will deal with them fairly and honestly when they visit 
my bank with their best interests in mind. Don't take that ability away 
from me to meet their unique needs.
  She points out that there are countless examples of local bankers 
offering nonstandard loan products to consumers and customers in an 
effort to meet their unique needs--not to victimize them, but to give 
them a product that fits their purpose.
  Under the proposed protection agency, however, community bankers 
``would have a much harder time helping their customers. They'd have to 
go through all sorts of regulatory hurdles.''

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