Political Quotes

“Financial modernization should be about expanding chartering options and choices for consumers, not about stripping away the fundamental characteristics of consumer-oriented institutions. It is a paradox that the banks that are here seeking more powers wish to restrict the powers of their competitors in the same bill and are using this amendment to do so. Proponents of this amendment contend that the unitary thrift charter is a 'loophole' that allows for the mixing of banking and commerce. Those concerns are both misplaced and impossible under the very conditions of charter. Federal law now expressly prohibits a unitarian thrift from lending to a commercial affiliate. By law, a thrift must focus on providing mortgage, consumer, and small business credit, and its commercial lending is severely restricted. The thrift charter is unique. Martin Mayer, who is a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution and a foe of mixing banking and commerce, supports the commercial ownership of thrifts because of their unique lending focus on consumers and small businesses. In the more than 3 decades that unitary thrift charters have existed, there is a total absence of any evidence that unitary thrifts' commercial affiliations have either led to a concentration of economic power or posed a risk to the consumer or the taxpayer.”