Elias Springer: “Saving rural communities by saving their banks”

There is an ongoing debate in this country regarding the extent to which national level policy makers should consider the special circumstances and conditions of rural America while making important decisions about the country’s economic future. I would advance that in light of the many banking regulations established as a result of the bailouts paid to what have been called “too-big-to-fail” institutions during the 2008 economic crisis, there needs to be an increase in resources devoted towards adapting current regulations to differentiate the needs of community banks versus these too-big-to-fail institutions. According to Brad Miller (2013), Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, one out of five rural counties relies on community banking as its only physical banking office. While the low population of rural areas may lead some to argue that policy makers should be focusing their time and effort on areas that affect the greatest number of people, the economic troubles facing rural America make it difficult for even the most averse to turn a blind eye. The Adirondacks are a good example of this issue, as many areas within the blue line rely on community banks for their savings and capital needs. While I recognize there are many banking regulation intricacies and complexities, my goal is to illuminate compliancy issues surrounding, in particular, the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 as well as highlight some simple solutions to help community banks remain competitive with their larger counterparts.

Full op-ed piece here