February 22, 2011
As a community banker, I feel the current proposal to require Banks offering product and services to Municipalities, to register as a municipal advisor will make it such a regulatory burden it will discourage small community Banks to continue to do business with local towns. We currently hold many town associated accounts and if this proposal goes into effect, may have to consider no longer doing business with our towns. This will again make big Banks benefit from the red tape that smaller institutions cannot afford to deal with due to lack of money and/or man power . Such a requirement would affect our deposit balances and weaken our market share and strengthen the bigger banks who have been the creators of most of the issues that brought all this legislation into effect.
I would respectfully ask SEC to reconsider making banking with municipalities such a difficult process and not pass this a requirement under section 975 of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Thank you,
Liz Turner
Liz Turner, VP
Retail Banking Administrator
Randolph Savings Bank
10 Cabot Place
Stoughton, MA 02072