Winona-based Merchants Financial Group has seen its business- and consumer-loan portfolio profitably grow by more than 10 percent annually since 2012. CEO Greg Evans, a 28-year veteran of the bank, said a history of employee and local ownership has buoyed the company through thick-and-thin times. He said he also would like to see federal regulatory relief for community bankers. Merchants has 21 full-service offices, from Apple Valley to La Crescent in the southeast corner of Minnesota, and 440 employees.
Q: The community banking industry has asked regulators and Congress for relief from the Dodd-Frank law that was a response to the near collapse of the financial system, triggered partly by mortgage industry deceit and Wall Street greed that led to the 2008-10 financial industry bailout by the Feds. Are you overregulated and how does it hamper your mission?
A: No question that there was a need for reform coming out of the Great Recession. Unfortunately, politicians and overzealous regulators don't have a true appreciation of the unintended consequences associated with intense regulatory burden.
Most of the changes coming out of the Dodd-Frank law had tremendous negative impact on consumers, even though politicians would suggest they were motivated by more consumer protection. Getting loans is more cumbersome, more costly and more onerous in terms of documentation today than it has ever been.
The pendulum has swung too far. Consumers and business owners pay the price by having to deal with systems that are far too complicated.
Q: How should Congress proceed and should your bank be treated differently than, say, huge JPMorgan Chase?
A: I'm not sure I am qualified to [discuss] the appropriate regulatory oversight needs to be for the megabanks. I would say … in the community bank space, we are driven to be as customer-centric as we can. Banks like Merchants, with significant presence in outstate markets, are tremendous drivers of the economic vitality of communities we serve.
The work we do each day allows us to have a powerful impact in changing people's lives in positive ways.