PACB Letter to Senator Robert Casey

October 1, 2007

The Honorable Robert P. Casey, Jr.
United States Senate
SD-B40C
Washington, DC 20510

Via Facsimile

Dear Bob:

On behalf of our Board of Directors and the 175 member institutions of PACB, thank you for taking time out of your very busy schedule to meet with us recently at the Capitol to discuss the various issues critical to community banking.

We also want to thank your very capable staff for their time and attention to our issues.

Based upon our conversations, I was very pleased to hear that you are inclined to support our position on the Farm Credit System (FCS) power grab via the Horizon proposal and the important need to close the ILC loophole that if not addressed would permit Wal-Mart and other huge commercial conglomerates to breach the separation of banking and commerce. Community bankers welcome competition as long as it’s fair and within the important principles upon which our economic system has been founded for the last seven decades or so.

We also thank you for your co-sponsorship and support of the FHLBank Pittsburgh’s initiative to allow the FHLB system to partner with community banks on tax exempt letters of credit that municipalities and other entities would be able to use for important economic development and other public infrastructure improvements. This is an extremely low cost way for the Congress to give our municipalities and other local entities an additional financing vehicle to address critical needs at the local level.

As always, we appreciate your open door and that of your staff. Please do not hesitate to contact us if we may be of any assistance to you.

Sincerely,

Frank A. Pinto
President/CEO

Cc: Kasey Gillette
      Nathan Steinwald
      ICBA
      All PACB Members
      FHLBank Pittsburgh