Community Banker Alert

As you probably have heard, the U.S. House of Representatives resoundingly approved H.R. 698, the Frank/Gillmor legislation designed to finally close the loophole in law that allows commercial conglomerates to own ILCs. The final vote was 371-16. All Pennsylvania House members present for the vote supported this legislation on final passage. Moreover, we were successful, with your key assistance, in having a majority of our delegation co-sponsor this legislation.

We cannot rest on our laurels, however. The vote in the House was strong and that was part of the strategy. The Senate’s consideration of this issue promises to be much more difficult. Utah Senator Robert Bennett will be a powerful opponent to closing the ILC loophole given his state’s prominent role in chartering ILCs.

As a result, we need every community banker to send a fax to our two U.S. Senators in favor of the Senate companion bill to H.R. 698 (S. 1356).

For your convenience, a sample letter is included that you may put on your letterhead and fax to the two numbers below. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Dave Transue of our staff.

Thanks to all of our members who have been active on this issue. We must continue to press to keep Wal-Mart, Home Depot and the many other commercial giants out of the banking business.

Specter’s D.C. Office – FAX -- (202) 228-0608;
Casey’s D.C. Office – FAX -- (202) 228-0604