Pub. 5 2017 Issue 2

11 Summer 2017 The Community Banker A.J. KING ATTENDS COMMUNITY BANKING RALLY AT THE WHITE HOUSE E very day I give thanks and am proud to be an American. This American pride reaches its peak when I travel to Washington, D.C., the capitol of the greatest country in the world. The experience is pow- erful and I can assure you if you haven’t been to Washington, D.C., it will leave a lasting impression. In early May I visited our nation’s capitol as part of the ICBA Capitol Summit. As Montana’s ICBA Federal Delegate and one of America’s community bankers, I was so proud of our profession and that others are now seeing the importance of our existence and the impact we have in the communities of this great nation. I was humbled and honored to be chosen as one of 100 community bankers to visit the White House and listen to speeches from President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, SBA chief Linda McMahon and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. President Trump said the administration is focused on addressing regulatory burdens to help community banks lend to small busi- nesses. Echoing throughout the speeches were statements referring to legislation drafted to roll back regulations placed by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and the Consumer Finance Protection Act. In addi- tion, there is a plan to delineate regulation between large banks and community banks, providing relief for community banks to assist customers without the burden of over-regu- lation. The only group invited to Whitehouse was the ICBA. As a fellow community banker, I ask you to please keep in mind the significance of this event. Trade associations such as those controlled by the “Too-Big-to-Fail-Bank’s” American Bankers Association and the non- tax-paying National Credit Union Association did not receive an invitation to the White House. Our nation’s leaders truly see the significance and importance of community banks and our contributions to small business lending along with the positive impact we have in our local communities. The time is now, my friends, to “be heard.” If we want to reduce regulation and protect our banks we also need help from our em- ployees, directors, and stockholders. Pending legislation includes ICBA’s Plan for Prosperity which is a blueprint of community bank regulatory reforms promoting localized lend- ing and job growth. The Plan for Prosperity petition can be accessed through the ICBA website http://www.icba.org as a feature icon on the home page. We need your signatures as well as anyone you can think of who is connected to your bank. Thank you for being a Community Bank. Be honored and proud for what you do for your community and your customers. A.J. King, President, Three Rivers Bank of Montana, Montana’s ICBA Federal Delegate