For Capito, Jobs Are Dodd-Frank Litmus Test

Kaper, Stacy, American Banker

Byline: Stacy Kaper

WASHINGTON - Rep. Shelley Moore Capito has had more than a few questions about the Dodd-Frank Act and other reforms, and now she has the power to address them.

As the new chairman of the House financial institutions subcommittee, the West Virginia Republican said she plans to examine three specific concerns: the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s authority to unwind systemically vital institutions; the consumer protection bureau; and clashing messages to community banks to tighten lending standards but at the same time make more loans to small businesses.

"We certainly want to see ... how these regulations are impacting jobs at financial institutions," Capito said in a recent interview. "If we enact all these reforms, is that going to be four more banking jobs but we are not going to lend as much? Or we are not going to be able to extend as much credit, shrinking another 150 jobs? So those kinds of things I think we really want to keep our eye on."

That said, Capito has embraced the spirit of comity that at least momentarily occupies Capitol Hill. She largely avoided offering hard conclusions on contentious issues, saying to do so would be "premature" without digging into the details. Capito has joined forces with Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., in a quest to rebuild the …

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Publication information: Article title: For Capito, Jobs Are Dodd-Frank Litmus Test. Contributors: Kaper, Stacy - Author. Magazine title: American Banker. Volume: 176. Issue: F304 Publication date: January 28, 2011. Page number: 1. © 2009 SourceMedia, Inc. COPYRIGHT 2011 Gale Group.

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