The 'Trickle-Down Effect' of Fee Caps

Bill Briggs of IBAT discusses the regulatory climate. Fintech funding hits four-year low. Also, Joseph Otting staffs up at NYCB and we review banks' 1Q capital raising.

Hello again, Bank Slaters!

Here we are again at the onset of another earnings season. Several big guys — JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup — have already reported. We’ll take a deeper dive into small and midsize banks; expect more analysis in the coming weeks.

I was featured in a Bank Director article looking how banks are trying to be more efficient despite revenue headwinds. I also shared my thoughts on what to consider when forming a new company as part of my role with the Forbes Finance Council.

Let’s talk about the regulatory climate as we head closer to midyear.

I recently chatted with Bill Briggs, the new director of federal and regulatory advocacy at the Independent Bankers Association of Texas about the legislation and regulation IBAT’s members are focused on. Bill is a great resource about the inner workings in Washington — he oversaw the implementation of the Paycheck Protection Program in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic.

Here is a streamlined transcript of our conversation.

IBAT just completed a couple of DC visits. Any big takeaways?

BILL BRIGGS: We had our IBAT Winter Summit, where we met with the federal regulators. Then we had our 30th annual fly-in where we had about 120 folks come in and visit with regulators and lawmakers. It provided a lot of perspective and education about what's going on in Washington at the legislative level and, frankly, at the regulatory level, where we're seeing a lot of the challenges facing Texas community banks.