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Article: As change threatens, small banks wield powerful lobby; CONCESSIONS BY LAWMAKERS Rally from Main Street against more oversight
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- October 31, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Washington Post. This material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Hundreds of small-town bankers had converged on Washington for
their annual conference five months ago when Treasury Secretary
Timothy F. Geithner, addressing them in the chandeliered ballroom of
the Grand Hyatt, gave notice that the financial industry was about
to change.
He offered them a glimpse of the Obama administration's plans to
overhaul bank regulation, leaving them with the unsavory feeling
they'd be facing more of it.
"He was very direct about the fact that this was a proposal that
was going to be sweeping," recalled Chris Williston, president of
the Independent Bankers Association of Texas. "That's when it
started gearing up. We knew at that time we had a major battle on
our ...