Capital Briefs: State Bank Groups Denounce Leach Proposal

Twenty-three state banking groups came out against House Banking Committee Chairman Jim Leach's Glass-Steagall reform bill.

Rep. Leach's bill "undermines the ability of national banks to engage in various aspects of the insurance business," said Roger Beverage, executive vice president of the Oklahoma Bankers Association wrote in a May 10 letter to House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

The state groups asked the speaker to postpone a vote on Rep. Leach's bill this year. "There is no consensus, even among bankers, on the issues involving insurance restrictions," Mr. Beverage said.

The state bankers associations opposing the bill include those of Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Colorado.

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