The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) detailed in congressional testimony why policymakers should exempt the nation’s community banks from proposed Basel III regulatory capital standards. Testifying before the House Financial Services Subcommittees on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity and on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, ICBA Chairman-Elect William A. Loving Jr. said that the guidelines should not apply to U.S. financial institutions with consolidated assets of $50 billion or less.

Basel III was meant to apply only to the very largest, internationally active institutions,” said Loving, who is also president and CEO of Pendleton Community Bank in Franklin, W.Va. “Community banks, with their simple capital structures and transparent and conservative lending, have little in common with these larger institutions. Applying the same capital rules, in addition to the many other new and far-reaching regulations that are soon becoming effective, will only undermine the viability of thousands of community banks.”

Loving said that applying Basel III and the standardized approach to community banks would lead to further industry consolidation. By penalizing relationship-based lending without regard to asset quality, the rules would leave consumers with fewer options and less access to credit. Further, he said, imposing complex and excessive capital standards is not viable for community banks because they have extremely limited options for raising new capital, unlike their larger competitors. Mutual banks and other thrifts will be disproportionately affected, Loving noted, because they hold more mortgages loans than other community banks.

Loving cited an ICBA Basel III petition signed by nearly 15,000 individuals. The petition notes that community banks maintain the highest capital levels in the banking industry and did not engage in the reckless behavior that contributed to the recent financial crisis. Basel III will only limit the ability of community banks to lend and invest in their communities and threaten the nation’s economic recovery, the petition states.