The CEO of Benton-based Community Financial and Services Bank took part in the 2017 Independent Community Bankers of America Summit at the White House this week. Betsy Flynn joined more than 100 other bank representatives to meet with President Donald Trump and other top officials to discuss lifting regulatory burdens that restrict community banks.
Flynn said she has been frustrated with regulations put in place bythe Dodd-Frank Act that she says makes it difficult to sign off on loans.
“Whether it’s a residential mortgage loan, or a small business loan, they want to fit everything in a square box, well... all of our borrowers don’t fit into the box they have for those regulations.” Flynn said.
Flynn said despite the restrictions, CFSB has been signing off of loans that aren’t defined as qualified under those regulations.
"We've been criticized for that," Flynn said. "We know our borrowers, we aren't going to loan money to someone who can't pay it back. But we take care of our small businesses -we have ever since the recession- we take care of homeowners, and we would never give someone a loan that would get them in trouble."
The controversial measure passed in 2010 with the intent to stabilize the financial system after the recession. Flynn said she believes ‘big government’ has no place in making laws that tell small banks to whom they can and cannot give loans. She said she hopes the new ICBA “Plan for Prosperity” will help to do away with unnecessary regulations that do not benefit homeowners or small business owners.
