Bob Kerrey: “One of the things all of us have to do when looking at this piece of legislation is ask the question whether or not we…”

“One of the things all of us have to do when looking at this piece of legislation is ask the question whether or not we are going to be able to maintain the safety and soundness of the banking system. It is a pretty dramatic change allowing companies that previously had been prohibited in certain lines of business to engage in those lines of business. I want to make it clear, I reached the conclusion that we do have the regulatory capacity to maintain safety and soundness, whichever piece of legislation emerges here. I appreciate very much the work of the Senator from Texas on this, as well as the work of the Senator from Maryland. I will point out a couple of things, as well, that I am very much grateful for, and one of them has to do with modernizing the Federal Home Loan Bank System that allows rural banks and other banks to have access to credit. I think it is a very important provision. Senator Hagel offered it, and I commend him for his leadership on it. I also want to make it clear on the CRA, at some point it is going to get to conference. I do support what Senator Gramm is doing to provide exemptions to banks under $100 million.”