Q A: banking and finance roundtable.

• Position: Industry Outlook - Discussion

Federal regulations have long been the top concern of banking leaders, but what will the election of Donald Trump mean for the regulatory environment? Our panel of industry execs weighs in on this topic, as well as consolidation among community banks and the rise of FinTech firms.

PARTICIPANTS

JIM BALDERSON

JLL

SCOTT IRWIN

Holland & Hart, LLP

REX ROLLO

America First

Credit Union

RICHARD BEARD

People's Utah Bancorp

EDWARD LEARY

Utah Department of Financial Institutions

EDWARD SANCHES

Central Bank

CHRIS CHRISTIANSEN

Bank of America

FRANK PIGNANELLI

National Association of Industrial Bankers

ROGER SHUMWAY

Bank of Utah

RAM HALTEH

Key Bank

SCOTT RICE

Wells Fargo

JOHN STILLINGS

Zions Bank

NOT PICTURED:

LEW GOODWIN

At the time of this roundtable, Lew Goodwin was president of Green Dot Bank. He is no longer with that organization.

MODERATOR

A special thank you to Juliette Tennert, director of economic and policy | research at the Kern C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business, for moderating the discussion.

Q A

What do the 2016 election results mean for the banking industry?

BEARD: There is a sense in our country of being overregulated. And it's dramatically impacting the community banks. You see the large banks growing in numbers, and community banks disappearing. A lot of that has to do with regulation that trickles down for some misdeeds at the top with these larger banks--it has trickled down and had a direct impact on the community banks.

I did not vote for Donald Trump, but I am hopeful that he may be the hand grenade that goes off and brings people to reality--that you just can't continue this kind of regulation and not have some dire consequences.

PIGNANELLI: Dodd-Frank is a cancer that is killing the country and financial services system. Hopefully members of Congress and the banking community will have greater strength in standing up and saying, "We've got to change or eliminate Dodd-Frank, because it is killing us." Hopefully this election change will be that.

Everything that's wrong with the so-called rebounding economy you can tie back to Dodd-Frank. I am hoping the banking community stands up for itself more, because we've been blemished with somehow causing the economic recession, and if anything is causing the turmoil that led to the election results, the frustration in this country, it is planted at the feet of Dodd-Frank.

Utah is still the fourth-largest center of financial services in the country. Hopefully this will also send the signal to the FDIC that they need to get off their butts, start approving insurance not just for state-chartered institution applicants in Utah, but across the country, and also for existing charters that want to change their bank plans to reflect 21st century dynamics. The FDIC has strangulated that. The belief is that because of the election, maybe the signal will go to the FDIC.

The industrial banks that I represent believe we can leverage the election results to possibly get some changes through on a regulatory basis. It could be the beginning of a major change in financial services.

SHUMWAY: There is a misunderstanding across the country of the definition of banks, and it's hurt us all. And Senator Warren has an opinion, and some people appreciate it, but it's straining the banks. For the smaller banks--the term "trickle down," I don't think it's trickling, it's rushing. For small community banks, regulatory relief is greatly needed. And maybe with the new control, hopefully there will be some changes that will relieve this.

SANCHES: We're probably one of the smallest community banks at this table, and there's a...