No More Mr. Nice Bank.

Washington’s Overreach Meets Banking’s Uppercut

by Ballard Cassady, KBA President

At the recent Washington ABA Summit, a rallying cry echoed through the halls. Esteemed speakers like former FDIC head Jalena McWilliams urged us to confront the tide of regulatory overreach and ideological bureaucrats. The spirit of the good fight was palpable, and I’ll admit to leaving D.C. feeling cautiously optimistic about our collective goals.

The cornerstone of the summit was unmistakable: advocacy must extend beyond the boardrooms and into the public eye and courts. To put it bluntly, bankers are sick and tired of being bullied by rogue regulators pretending to care about the American people. They’re sick and tired of it, and they’re ready to fight back.

I’m reminded of some folk wisdom I learned as a kid… It’s something I’ve come to call “Pikeville-ese” and it’s really simple: the only way to stop a bully is to punch him in the mouth. This sentiment captures the prevailing mood at the summit—there’s no more room for passivity when dealing with the bullies in Washington pushing unchecked agendas. We have tried to compromise. We have tried to negotiate. The clear takeaway? Sitting in the middle of the road just means you get hit by both sides. That’s some more Pikeville-ese for you… Some truths you just won’t get with a college education.

The ABA seems to understand this now. There appears to be a significant shift in the ABA’s strategy from negotiation to assertive legal confrontation, illustrated by their initiation of three new lawsuits since the last gathering, bringing the total to four ongoing legal battles. With potentially more on the horizon, the banking community is showing its readiness to challenge overzealous regulatory actions head-on. It goes without saying, the KBA welcomes this new direction. Once more, into the fray we go.

All of this just reflects something I’ve known for a long, long time: compromises with ideologues are futile. It’s like screaming at a wall. The inability of a split Congress to safeguard the industry’s interests, coupled with the executive veto of critical bills like 1071, has left us with little choice but to seek any advantages we can get in the courts. Fighting in court isn’t easy, of course. But our resolve has never been stronger, and the stakes have never been higher. If we have to teach Washington a few more lessons in “Pikeville-ese”, well, so be it.