Sen. Tester appeals to bankers amid political campaign

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Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

WASHINGTON — Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., a self-described banking moderate who's up for reelection in his home state this year, told a group of bankers that he's working on several issues that are industry priorities, including interchange policy. 

"It's about trying to bring folks together — that's typically what the moderates do," Tester said at the American Bankers Association Washington Summit on Wednesday. 

Tester's race in Montana is expected to be contentious, and his seat is one of two that Democrats must keep to maintain control of the Senate. For years, Tester has held on to his seat in an increasingly red state, and during that time he's enjoyed support from Montana bankers. 

"I think when you lose the moderates, you have much more potential for division," he said. "And if there's one thing that I hear about a lot on the ground in Montana is division in Congress. Why can't you guys be adults? Why can't you work together? And that's what I try to do when I'm on the banking committee." 

Interchange is among the issues on which Tester and the banking industry share common ground. The Federal Reserve's proposal to slash the interchange fee cap is a mistake, particularly for smaller banks, he said.

"It really hurts the little guys in a big, big way," he said. 

Tester sought to avoid criticizing the Biden administration while still signaling his support for bankers. Some of the proposals that have been issued by regulators, he said, are well intentioned but could hurt communities across the country if bankers pass on added regulatory costs to customers. His comment echoed arguments made by the banking lobby. 

"The best laid plans can sometimes do the exact opposite of what they're intending to do," Tester said. 

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In October, Tester voted alongside only a handful of Democrats to nullify the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's small-business data collection rule. At the ABA conference, he said that the requirements were too burdensome and that rule could lead to invasions of privacy. 

"The truth is that if that reporting takes away people's privacy and forces particularly smaller banks to say, 'This is just too much hassle, we're going to stop doing this stuff,' it takes away from viability of communities and that's particularly acute in rural America." 

President Joe Biden later vetoed the Congressional Review Act challenge to the rulemaking. 

Tester also lent his support to the banking industry in the debate over the Durbin-Marshall credit card swipe fee bill. When asked what's going on with the legislation, he quipped: "hopefully, nothing." 

The bill would require cards issued by banks with $100 billion or more of assets to offer merchants the choice of two unaffiliated card networks that aren't both Visa and Mastercard. It would need support from the entire Democratic side of the aisle on the Senate Banking Committee, or a few Republicans, to advance out of that committee. 

"I hope that bill goes away," he said. "I think it's the wrong thing."