DeSantis invites testimony of local community banker

Congressman Ron DeSantis, vice-chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Job Creation and Regulatory Affairs, informed local Historic City News reporters that St Augustine community banker, Eddie Creamer, testified today regarding the impact that Dodd-Frank is having on Prosperity Bank and their ability to serve Florida’s sixth congressional district.

At the suggestion of DeSantis, the committee invited Creamer, President and CEO of Prosperity Bank, to address the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee during today’s hearing titled “Regulatory Burdens: The Impact of Dodd-Frank on Community Banking.”

“There are thousands of pages of state law and regulations, and thousands more of FDIC law and regulations, that my senior staff and I spend in excess of 35% of our time responding to; because of examination and reporting requirements,” Creamer told the subcommittee. “Federal regulation impedes our ability to lend, and in doing so, will stifle the economic recovery and job creation which is desperately needed in our communities.”

In May, the Prosperity Banking Company, parent company of Prosperity Bank, announced that the local bank would merge with Moultrie, Georgia based Ameris Bancorp. One month earlier, HCBF Holdings Company Inc., acquired BSA Financial Services Inc. — parent company of the Bank of St Augustine.

“Excessive bureaucracy and red tape, as exhibited by Dodd-Frank and other laws, hurt the ability of community banks to serve the local community; undermining economic growth and making robust small business job creation more elusive,” DeSantis said. “Community banks had nothing to do with the financial crisis — and yet, the burdens of the bureaucracy are making it more difficult for small firms to compete with the big banks.”

Creamer’s testimony, demonstrating the harmful effect laws such as Dodd-Frank are having on local economies, was appreciated by Congressman DeSantis; who believes that “big government” unnecessarily disadvantages small businesses.