Pub. 2 2011 Issue 4

www.wvbankers.org 4 E verybody is talking about creating jobs nowadays. From the sound of all the talk on cable news, you would think that jobs are created by Congress or the President. The jobs we need are created by individuals who carefully place private wealth at risk. And that is what traditional banking is all about. So how ironic is it that the same politicians who have spent the last 3 years opportunistically bashing banks and saddling them with hundreds of new regulations are now worried about getting re-elected because the private sector is not creating jobs. In these tough economic times, America needs really good bankers, who have the freedom and f lexibility to do what they do best. If given the opportunity, I am confident the bankers I know will not let America down. Despite the thrashing they have taken in the press, traditional bankers in communities across the country are rolling up their sleeves. They are gearing up to comply with all the new regulations. They are navigating a new path through all the red tape in an effort to continue to meet their customers’ needs. They are pushing back on over-zealous regulators, shin- ing the spotlight on the outrageous consequences of the Dodd-Frank law, and exposing the unintended con- sequences that are making it almost impossible to make the loans neces- sary to get the economy going again. Traditional bankers live in the com- munities with the entrepreneurs that are trying to save our country. We see them at church, at the local restau- rants, and the Fourth of July parades. Our business, our goal, our passion is to help them make our communities thrive and grow. Traditional bankers are prudent, measured, thoughtful and trustworthy. They don’t need hundreds of new regulations drafted in Washington D.C., sometimes without any debate or study, to tell them how to do their jobs. Their com- munities don’t need this misguided mountain of regulations to protect them from the bankers with whom they live, work and worship. But someone needs to tell that to the highest ranking financial of- ficial in the Obama administration. Last month Timothy Geithner, the Secretary of the Treasury went on television in defense of the Dodd- Frank legislations and said, “Don’t listen to banks . . . because their interests are not aligned perfectly with the broad interests of the Ameri- can economy. Their job is to evade, or avoid, or weaken, any constraints on their ability to operate. Our job is to try to make sure we’re protecting the American economy from the risks they inevitably take.” I wholeheartedly disagree! First, it would be prudent for the President and his advisors to learn that jobs are not created without risk. The key is to make sure those risks are prudent. That’s what traditional bankers do. Second, risks are not taken without reward. Like it or not, people with wealth, won’t put that wealth at risk unless there is an upside. If you insist on limiting that upside or taking it away through taxation, they won’t put it at risk, at least not in this country. The United States has an amazing track record of creating jobs. Better than any country in the history of the world. So what has changed? Why aren’t we cre- ating jobs today? Perhaps it is because we have a President who loathes the primary ingredients in the job-making process: risk, wealth and profits. The greatest risk to the American economy is the arrogance of public officials who believe that from their perch in Washington D.C. they know what is best for every community and every consumer in America. As for me, I have an enormous amount of confidence and trust in the bankers I know. No one has a broader understanding of what is going on in every aspect of their community than the traditional banker who lives and works there. Families need jobs, our local econo- mies need to stabilize and grow, and critical services like education, infrastructure and local police and fire departments need reliable funding streams. I am proud to say that no one is working harder to make this hap- pen than our traditional bankers. n A M essage from the C hairman By Robert Buzzo Bankers are the Solution not the Problem