Community Banker Alert

Once again, we are asking you to contact our two U.S. Senators in support of two issues pending before the U.S. Senate:

1. S. 1356, legislation that would close the Industrial Loan Corporation (ILC) loophole and maintain the separation of banking and commerce. As you know, we were successful in having legislation overwhelmingly pass the House of Representatives and our focus must now be on convincing the U.S. Senate to take action before the FDIC moratorium expires on January 31, 2008. The FDIC has made it clear that the moratorium will not be extended and they will begin making judgments on the applications before them for deposit insurance by ILCs;
2. Although we resoundingly defeated in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Farm Credit System (FCS) power grab and massive lending expansion through the Horizons proposal, the FCS and their lobbyists are working hard to insert their proposal in the Senate.

We were successful in meeting with Senator Bob Casey in his Capitol Office recently to discuss these two critical issues. Senator Casey is inclined to support us but we need massive contacts to his office showing him that community bankers have numbers and care about these issues. Flooding his office with contacts could mean the difference in whether he ultimately supports us or not.

In the interests of time, we are asking you, your employees, officers, and directors, to call the two U.S. Senator’s offices with a simple message:

1. Please co-sponsor and support S. 1356, legislation to close the ILC loophole and stop Wal-Mart and other commercial conglomerates from breaching the separation of banking and commerce;
2. Please oppose and vote against attempts by the Farm Credit System to expand their lending via the Horizons Proposal.

Casey’s Contact Information: Casey’s D.C. Phone # -- (202)224-6324

Specter’s Contact Information: Specter’s D.C. Phone # -- (202)224-4254

If you need any assistance with these contacts, please call Dave Transue.