“Thousands of small banks with deep ties to their local communities were mobilized by their lobby group, the Independent Community Bankers of America, to go to Washington to persuade Congress to give them a break. Top of their list is convincing lawmakers to delay implementation of the debit card plan by two years and to give bank regulators more say on rules of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In a list of “lobbying dos and don’ts,” small bankers from across the country were told to be “bring the issue down to the local level” and to follow up with visits to district offices and town hall meetings.”
Conspicuously absent from any media attention are the largest debit issuers, who have already begun the process of recalibrating their retail DDA portfolios to account for an anticipated loss in revenue. For those that have not made changes yet, they are most likely ready to make required changes should the delay bills fail to stop the Fed’s rule writing process.
