While lobbying Congress sometimes may not work, you can always count on Tim Geithner to lend a sympathetic ear, especially if you are bank lobbyist:
ABA President Frank Keating wrote a weepy letter to Geithner:
“There is uniform concern, anxiety, frustration and anger among these community leaders, who feel betrayed by Washington”
Translation: I can’t believe the millions we spent was for naught.
“True, the law on paper distinguishes between banks by size. But its $10 billion threshold - used to exempt smaller institutions from provisions in the CFPB and Durbin debit-interchange amendment — is arbitrary and artificial and is not working”
Translation: Ok, so small banks are exempted – and, when I say “is not working”, I mean since the law isn’t in effect we don’t know see any real effect – but we really don’t care cause we are a bank lobby and we need stand united with large banks & Wall Street on opposing this.
If lobbying Geithner fails, the ABA will ghost-write a piece for Andrew Ross Sorkin & arm him with talking points to promote on CNBC.
