Government Archives - Wisconsin Bankers Association

Take Action: Federal Interchange Legislation

By WBA President and CEO Rose Oswald Poels

There is a significant effort underway from the large retailers, merchants, convenience stores, and others to get the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) included as an amendment to any other legislation that is moving between now and the end of the calendar year. The banking industry needs to remain diligent and active in voicing our repeated opposition to any inclusion of this language in any other legislation.

Please contact your member of Congress, most importantly our two U.S. Senators, today expressing your strong opposition to any inclusion of the Credit Card Competition Act in other legislation. As Congress debates the “mini-bus” appropriations bill, that is one potential opportunity for this language to be included since this legislation will be acted upon. There will be other similar pieces of legislation that need to move before year-end so we could ask for your grassroots advocacy again as the year progresses.

An easy way to send a message is through both the ABA and ICBA websites. As they have stated in their e-publications, bankers are encouraged to voice strong opposition to renewed efforts by Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) to force Senate consideration of legislation to advance credit card routing restrictions.

Since our focus right now is on the Senate, you may also send a message through the contact pages on each Senator’s respective websites at the following links:

The substance of your message could include the following text:

“As a Wisconsin banker, I am writing to express my strong opposition to any inclusion of the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) in any other legislation including the “mini-bus” appropriations package currently being considered in the Senate. This legislation is anti-consumer and anti-competitive. The CCCA will raise costs on consumers, imperil payment system security, reduce access to important card benefits, and harm financial institutions. This bill is not about making the payment system more competitive, but rather an attempt by the largest retailers, merchants, convenience stores, and others to obtain a subsidy for themselves at the expense of smaller competitors and consumers. These savings will not be passed on to consumers as is evident in the now decade-long experience we have with the Durbin Amendment. Costs have skyrocketed for consumers at these various merchants, while the Federal Reserve found that banks and credit unions with assets under $10 billion are now making do with 25% less per-transaction debit card interchange following the Durbin Amendment. This legislation would double down on the harm already caused by the Durbin Amendment. In fact, a recent GAO report found that the Durbin Amendment was “among the top five laws and regulations most cited… as having significantly affected the cost and availability of basic banking services.”

A credit card transaction is an extension of the bank’s own funds to its customer. Therefore, it’s critical that banks be allowed to carefully and deliberately select the network over which their own funds flow to the merchant. On behalf of my bank and our customers, I ask that you commit to actively opposing any inclusion of the Marshall-Durbin-Gooden-Welch Credit Card Competition Act bill in any other legislation.“

Thank you for taking time to advocate on this critically important issue for the banking industry!

Take Action Through ABA Take Action Through ICBA

September 15, 2023/by Jaclyn Lindquist

Advocacy, News

Wisconsin Bankers Association Statement on the State Budget

By WBA President and CEO Rose Oswald Poels

In signing the state budget today, Governor Tony Evers supported a historic tax law change approved by the state Legislature that builds on the state’s success in attracting and investing in Wisconsin businesses. Beginning this year, the new law will promote further economic development by providing banks with an income tax exclusion on income earned from commercial loans for business or agricultural purposes of $5 million or less where the borrower resides, or is located, in the state of Wisconsin.

Ultimately, this state tax law change directly supports economic growth as Wisconsin banks continue to work with their Main Street small businesses and farmers. The Wisconsin Bankers Association wishes to thank Governor Evers and his Administration, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, Speaker Robin Vos, Joint Finance Committee Co-Chairs Sen. Howard Marklein and Rep. Mark Born, and all Joint Finance Committee members, including Rep. Terry Katsma and Sens. Mary Felzkowski and Pat Testin, for their collective leadership in support of Wisconsin’s banking industry.

July 5, 2023/by Cassandra Krause

Advocacy, Community, News

Executive Letter: Make Your Voice Heard

By Rose Oswald Poels

Since the Wisconsin Bankers Association’s (WBA) inception 130 years ago, advocating on behalf of Wisconsin bankers has been one of our top priorities. WBA reaches across aisles, supporting pro-banking legislators and candidates, with the goal of advocating for and supporting the banking industry.

With Wisconsin’s general election quickly approaching in November and the primary just next week on August 9, I wish to remind all Wisconsin bankers of the importance of not only participating in these two elections, but ultimately making your voice heard on behalf of our industry.

This year, the American Bankers Association (ABA) is once again promoting their “Get Out the Vote” initiative which assists in educating voters on banking issues. I encourage you to visit the ABA’s site to make sure you are registered to vote, know the candidates on your ballot, and where your polling locations are. ABA has also created a toolkit for banks to share with employees to promote voter participation.

As we know, Wisconsin’s election battleground regularly takes the national spotlight and with candidates looking to flip the ballot for several major state offices — Governor, U.S. Senate, and some state Assembly seats, to name a few — little is expected to change this year. In addition to making your voice heard through casting your vote next week (and in November), I encourage bankers to actively participate in our advocacy initiatives in two additional ways.

Take Your Legislator to Work

As WBA’s over 100 Advocacy Officers can attest, the most effective way of advocating for our industry is to meet with legislators in person. Taking this one step further, “Take Your Legislator to Work Day” visits not only allow decision makers to hear about the great work bankers do each day in their communities but see it for themselves.

Your direct involvement in hosting legislators not only assists our elected government officials in further understanding the community banking industry and the impact legislation has on our operations, but also offers an in-depth perspective into Wisconsin’s economy as well as the successes and challenges many of our communities face.

The WBA Government Relations team stands ready to assist your bank in engaging in advocacy-related events, including working with you to schedule a “Take Your Legislator to Work Day” at your bank. If you would like to host, or learn more about hosting a visit, please contact Lorenzo Cruz, vice president – government relations, or me.

Political Contributions

WBA is not concerned with “D” or “R”, but rather “B” as in the “Banking” party. Donating to WBA’s political action funds in support of pro-banking candidates is an easy and significant way to further promote WBA’s legislative agenda and bankers throughout the state.

Wisbankpac is WBA’s registered political action committee. Wisbankpac supports pro-banking candidates throughout Wisconsin by pooling individual banker contributions in order to maximize the overall impact. The Alliance of Bankers for Wisconsin (ABW) — WBA’s state conduit — allows individuals to direct contributions to the candidate(s) of their choosing.

I greatly appreciate your past support and active involvement in WBA’s various advocacy initiatives; however, as with everything else, we need your engagement to continue at an even higher level. It would be ideal if an additional six to eight “Take Your Legislator to Work Day” visits were scheduled between now and December. Furthermore, WBA has a goal of raising $300,000 in our political accounts this calendar year, which will require greater participation than what has occurred in the past. If you are interested in contributing to WBA’s political action funds — be it Wisbankpac or ABW — or learning more about how to contribute, please visit wisbank.com/Give or contact me. Together we will continue to achieve successes for our industry!

August 4, 2022/by Hannah Flanders

Advocacy, News

New Year, New (People Representing) You?

By John Cronin

2022 is here. For all of you who made New Year’s resolutions, I hope they remain intact or on track. From a Government Relations standpoint, our goals remain relatively unchanged; we are still striving to accomplish portions of our legislative agenda before the Legislature adjourns for the year in March.

Whether in person or on Zoom, I often get confused looks when I say the Legislature is wrapping up its activity for the rest of the year in March. “Aren’t these people supposed to be working for us year-round?!” The answer is yes, but they’ll stop meeting for floor sessions and committee meetings on bills and resolutions. But don’t worry, legislative staff work year-round on research and constituent service.

So why will state legislative activity come to a halt in just a few weeks? It is an election year! And a very significant one at that. Believe it or not, candidates are going to be on the campaign trail in April already, a full seven months ahead of the general election on November 8. This is Wisconsin after all; we live in a purple state and from the bottom of the ticket to the top, races will be resource-intensive and highly competitive.

WBA and our member bankers will certainly be interested observers for many state and federal races this fall. We will also be supporting pro-banking candidates whose interests are aligned with those of our industry.

With that, I would like to highlight a few key races, and take a way-too-early look at what we may wake up to and see in the news on November 9.

U.S. Senate
As I write this column, Sen. Ron Johnson has just announced that he will seek a third term in the U.S. Senate. Johnson’s decision was one nearly every political observer in Wisconsin was waiting for. Given the split in the U.S. Senate and the competitiveness of this race, Johnson’s bid will ensure the national, political spotlight will remain on Wisconsin. Sen. Johnson is a polarizing figure for sure, but Republicans are enjoying a 2010-esque tailwind in the political environment right now. If that holds, I can see Johnson retaining his seat by a razor thin margin.

Governor
Johnson’s announcement will undoubtedly have a ripple effect on races down the ticket and could play a role in the state’s other high profile race — Governor. I predict odds-on favorite Rebecca Kleefisch will be the GOP nominee facing off against incumbent Democrat Gov. Tony Evers. Since defeating Scott Walker three years ago, Evers has not done much to upset the apple cart in the eyes of the public and will benefit from being the incumbent. He has also delivered on key topics such as increased education funding and tax relief. Kleefisch will be running on her experience and accomplishments during the eight years she was Lieutenant Governor and has already rolled out a concise, but high energy approach to the campaign. Kleefisch will benefit from statewide name recognition and the same strong GOP tailwinds. I’m going to weasel out and put this in the too-close-to-call bucket for now.

Redistricting
Lastly, let’s take a quick look at the Legislature, where the GOP holds a 61-38 edge in the Assembly, and a 21-12 margin in the Senate; strong majorities but not quite veto-proof. The redistricting process remains before the courts, but the GOP has achieved wins that point to generally favorable outcomes for the maps they drew and passed before they were vetoed by the Governor. If the political climate holds, I predict the GOP will pick up additional legislative seats this fall and extend their majorities.

It is going to be an action-packed year, and I’m confident we will see some of the most expensive races in Wisconsin history this fall. Our political “coverage” will continue to ramp up, so stay tuned to all of WBA’s publications for the latest.

February 7, 2022/by Jaclyn Lindquist

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