jerome h powell : community banking opening remarks by mr jerome h powell, member of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at the webinar on “ community banking ”, washington dc, 20 october 2014. * * * thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today about some of the key issues facing community banks. as the chairman of the federal reserve board ’ s community and regional bank subcommittee, i try to meet with groups of community bankers whenever i can to better understand what is on community bankers ’ minds. while today ’ s webinar is no substitute for face - to - face meetings with bankers, it is a special treat to be able to leverage technology to speak to and hear from so many community bankers across the country at the same time. as all of you surely know, community banks play a vital role in the u. s. financial system. community banks have strong links to the people and businesses in their communities, as well as direct knowledge of local economic conditions. these close ties give community bankers a clear advantage in understanding local needs and tailoring their products and services to meet those needs. my colleagues on the federal reserve board and i are committed to making sure that we understand the issues that are most important to community banks as you strive to serve the financial needs of your communities. one way that we further our understanding is by talking to the bankers themselves in a variety of venues, such as this webinar and a community banking research conference that i attended last month in st. louis, which was co - sponsored by the federal reserve system and the conference of state bank supervisors. and there is another opportunity to communicate with the federal reserve and our fellow regulators that i want to make sure you are aware of. the economic growth and regulatory paperwork reduction act ( egrpra ) of 1996 tasked financial regulators with reviewing regulations issued by the agencies at least every 10 years to identify outdated, unnecessary, or unduly burdensome regulations. the agencies kicked off that process earlier this year, and in addition to collecting comments in writing, we are beginning a series of meetings with the public in december. one of the themes that we hear in our interactions with community bankers is concern that the regulatory environment could be tailored more effectively for community banks, and the egrpra process gives all interested parties a voice in identifying areas where regulatory requirements may be disproportionate to risk. i therefore encourage you to participate in this important process and hope you will raise

also know, from the survey conducted by the national federation of independent business that while only 8 percent of small businesses list access to credit as their principal immediate economic problem, just 40 percent of small businesses attempting to borrow in 2009 had all of their credit needs met. 4 surveys like the two i just mentioned are informative, but getting a full picture also requires hearing from knowledgeable people with diverse perspectives on these issues. meetings like this one allow us to gather intelligence we and others can use to facilitate the flow of credit to small businesses – for instance, by identifying specific credit gaps, clarifying examiner expectations and procedures, improving coordination of small business support services, and ensuring the availability of technical assistance for loan applications. thus we can help ensure that small businesses are able to participate in and contribute to the recovery. the findings from the entire series of meetings sponsored by the federal reserve will be presented at a culminating conference at the board of governors in washington later this summer. learning from people engaged with small businesses and small business credit, like those here today, is vital if we are to make progress. i look forward to hearing your ideas and concerns, and thank you again for joining us. for example, see board of governors of the federal reserve system, federal deposit insurance corporation, national credit union administration, office of the comptroller of the currency, office of thrift supervision, and conference of state bank supervisors ( 2010 ), “ regulators issue statement on lending to creditworthy small businesses ”, joint press release, february 5. see the april 2010 senior loan officer opinion survey on bank lending practices available on the board of governors ’ website. see william j. dennis, jr. ( 2010 ), small business credit in a deep recession ( washington : national federation of independent business., february ).