February 12, 2015

Shelby Opening Remarks at Hearing on Regulatory Relief for Community Banks and Credit Unions

WASHINGTON, DC – Thursday, February 12, 2015 – U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, today delivered the following opening remarks during a full committee hearing on “Regulatory Relief for Community Banks and Credit Unions.”

The text of Chairman Shelby’s remarks, as prepared, is below.  

“This week, the Committee began an examination of potential changes to the current regulatory regime.

“On Tuesday we heard from the regulators on some ways to mitigate the regulatory burden on community banks and credit unions.  Today we will hear from those who are subjected to that burden.

“We have asked our witnesses today to share their recommendations on ways to provide regulatory relief for smaller financial institutions, and how the regulators can improve their review of outdated, unnecessary, or unduly burdensome regulations to make it more comprehensive and meaningful.  

“As the hearing on Tuesday demonstrated, there is a bipartisan understanding that something must be done to relieve the regulatory burden on institutions that provide essential banking functions to communities across America.

"I look forward to hearing from our witnesses and working with Ranking Member Brown and the members of this committee to advance legislation that will benefit community banks and credit unions across the country.”

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