The Lobbyist: Thrifts Like What They Hear on Deposit Premiums

The thrift industry invaded Capitol Hill in force last week, looking for support on their No.1 issue: the looming disparity between what banks and thrifts will pay for deposit insurance.

Some 250 thrift executives and lobbyists attending the government affairs conference sponsored by America's Community Bankers spent an afternoon on the Hill, and seemed pretty happy with what they heard.

"If you had to characterize the response of the people that were at all aware of the issue, they acknowledged that there is a problem and would like there to be a solution that everyone can live with," said ACB lobbyist Steve Verdier.

That may not sound like much. But with the American Bankers Association telling lawmakers that there is no problem - the ABA is concerned Congress may try to bolster the thrift fund with taxpayer or bank industry money - Mr. Verdier was happy just to hear a member of Congress agree that a problem exists.

However, the ABA sponsored a "fly-in" of about 100 bankers the week before, and was also pleased with the response from Capitol Hill.

"Most responses were sympathetic to our side of the issue, but they were also noncommittal," said Debbie Shannon, senior legislative representative and House manager for the ABA. "It wasn't as if they were saying, 'Of course I'm going to support you.'"

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is expected to lower bank premiums later this year to 4 cents for each $100 of domestic deposits, while leaving thrift rates unchanged at an average 24 cents.

Some industry sources said the thrift group's approach may be winning out with Congress over the message being broadcast by the ABA, which does not want to endanger its rate reduction.

"If the right person pushes the banks, like the Comptroller of the Currency or (FDIC chairman) Ricki Tigert Helfer, they'll realize they have to work a deal with the thrifts," said a bank lobbyist. "But the current attitude will just get Congress upset with banks."

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While some lawmakers are already looking ahead to the 1996 election campaigns, a good number of House Banking Committee members are still looking over their shoulder at the last one.

Some banking committee members are willing to do almost anything, it would seem, to retire campaign debts. Like the Ohio Republican who sponsored a "Groundhog Day Celebration with Rep. Bob Ney."

On the more conventional front, freshman House Banking Committee member Frank Cremeans, R-Ohio, held a $500-a-head reception to repay loans taken out by his campaign committee.

According to the most recent campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, Rep. Cremeans owed about $386,000.

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Some members of the House Banking Committee freshman class may think that if you've seen one bank trade group, you've seen them all.

According to a lobbyist for the Independent Bankers Association of America, ABA representatives visiting the new committee members to preach their laissez-faire approach to the upcoming insurance fund disparity have been mistaken for envoys from the community bank group.

"A lot of the freshman members have been getting confused between us and the ABA," said the IBAA lobbyist, who asked not to be identified. "They'll say, 'I spoke to some of your members, and they said the premium differential won't be a problem.'

"No problem? That's definitely not us."

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