This presidential election cycle has been full of surprises, especially when it comes to what groups are supporting which candidates. That's even true when it comes to this state's banking and finance leaders.
Roger Beverage, the head of the Oklahoma Bankers Association, told The Journal Record’s Brian Brus he doesn’t see any evidence Republican frontrunner Donald Trump understands the differences between large Wall Street firms and community banks:
“While other candidates have been speaking about repealing parts of Dodd-Frank, he didn’t join the fray,” Beverage said. “So I’m a little nervous because he’s so popular, and it looks like he’s going to win the nomination.” Beverage stressed the opinion was his own and not that of the OBA. Like the American Bankers Association, the state trade group is unlikely to endorse any particular candidate, he said, because the membership is so diverse and so many candidates have stayed in the race longer than expected. Billionaire George Kaiser, for example, chairman of Tulsa-based BOK Financial, recently held a fundraiser for Democrat and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while Beverage believes Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has shown the most intent to revise the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. “I’ve been watching and listening ever since these guys hit the campaign trail, and there’s been a lot to pay attention to,” Beverage said.
Curtis Davidson, CEO of First National Bank in Ardmore, said he looks at the race not just for how it affects his operations, but how it affects his customers.
From Brus:
“It’s all related in a big-picture sense,” he said. “Which candidate will support regulatory relief for small businesses? They are our primary clients. So I want to know which candidates will do the best job in cutting through their red tape, and how would the candidate’s positions affect our largest industry, oil and gas?” U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vermont, has failed to establish himself as pro-business or pro-community banking, Davidson said. On the Republican side, he said, “I have serious doubts Trump even knows what a community bank is. I think he’s pro-business, but I don’t know if he’s pro-small business.”
Beverage even had some praise for Hillary Clinton:
During campaign speeches in New Hampshire, for example, she urged community banks to push reforms separate from their larger cousins on Wall Street. “She has stated she recognizes the overreach of Dodd-Frank and how it has an adverse impact on community banks,” Beverage said. “I don’t believe Sen. Sanders has a position with respect to community banks; Secretary of State Clinton has made statements to that effect, at least. I believe in my heart of hearts that Sanders lumps all banks together in one category.” Clinton may have won a few points from bankers on that issue, Beverage said, “although she’ll get a lot more points on the other side of the ledger, I’m sure.”
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