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Tester, Daines know the differences between big banks and small community banks – Daily Montanan [1]

['More From Author', 'April', 'Tracie Kenyon']

Date: 2023-04-09  

In Montana, credit unions help our communities thrive and our small businesses grow.

Nearly 465,000 Montanans rely on credit unions to provide financial accounts, loans, and mortgages, because they prefer to be served by their neighbors.

The hardworking Montanans I represent typically don’t get a lot of press coverage. But in recent weeks, our work has become headline news. That is because we personally worked for years to craft and pass the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act alongside Sen. Jon Tester in 2018. This important law has come under attack and is wrongfully being blamed for the failure of the Silicon Valley Bank.

The aim of this law was simple: Local credit unions in Montana should not be subjected to the same Washington regulations meant for the large, Wall Street banks. We went to Tester and asked him for his help in cutting this bureaucratic red-tape.

Trust me when I say it wasn’t easy. He took on big Wall Street banks and members of both parties who wanted to play politics instead of do their jobs. Thankfully, our efforts were successful.

That 2018 law has been a lifeline for Montana’s small community credit unions, replacing burdensome regulations that just don’t make sense for rural America with tailored oversight. It has allowed our local institutions to thrive, so that we can provide relief to small businesses, farmers, ranchers, and homebuyers.

Before the 2018 law was put into place, top-down financial regulations that were crafted to rein in the largest institutions were forced on small Montana credit unions. Only folks who have never lived in Big Sky Country would think that Intrepid or Rocky Mountain Credit Unions ought to have the same regulations as JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs.

Fortunately, both Sens. Tester and Steve Daines went to bat for Main Street. Tester deserves our gratitude for his leadership in crafting this tailored legislation, and Daines supported the measure on the Senate floor. They understood the need for relief for Main Street institutions.

Credit unions are locally-run financial cooperatives run by volunteer boards made of community members. Our credit union members are not just another nameless account — they are our neighbors, friends, and small business owners. We know our customers, and we are invested in their success.

Unfortunately, the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has led some in Washington to rewrite history and push to impose burdensome red tape on our Montana credit unions.

But make no mistake: One-size-fits-all policies do not work for rural America, which is why it would be a mistake to use the failure of those out in Silicon Valley as a justification for imposing burdensome red tape on Montanans.

There will always be folks who don’t understand our Montana way of life and think they know what’s best for rural America. We are grateful to have leaders like Jon Tester and Steve Daines standing up for Montana in Washington.

Tracie Kenyon is chief executive of Montana Credit Unions cooperative.

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[1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2023/04/09/tester-daines-know-the-differences-between-big-banks-and-small-community-banks/

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