U.S. going too far in bias fight, Community Bankers official says.

WASHINGTON -- The federal government is overreaching its jurisdiction in fair-lending enforcement, said David E.A. Carson, president of People's Bank, Bridgeport Conn.

"Its solutions to urban problems don't work, so it is trying to get someone else to solve them;' he said.

Mr. Carson, also first vice chairman of the Savings and Community Bankers of America, will give the opening speech here today at the group's National Compliance Conference.

The conference, which is expected to draw 350 people, runs through Wednesday.

Fair lending and CRA, easily the biggest compliance issues for thrifts in the coming year, are a large focus of the conference, Mr. Carson said.

The Justice Department's recent $11 million settlement with Chevy Chase Federal Savings Bank has highlighted the issue.

The case not only raises a lot of compliance issues, but also broadens the number of agencies regulating the business of banking.

Banks are worried, Mr. Carson said. "Nobody can afford to fight the federal government."

Mr. Carson said he has two main hopes for the conference: to get feedback from bankers that will help the SCBA know what its members want and to show thrifts how other institutions are meeting regulatory requirements.

Compliance as good business will be the focus of Mr. Carson's speech. At People's, which received an outstanding rating on its last Community Reinvestment Act examination, all senior managers are responsible for compliance.

"I expect everyone to understand the spirit of compliance," he said.

Other conference sessions will focus on advertising, appraisals, automating compliance, and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.

A three-part series will help bankers prepare for, execute, and respond to exams. A cultural diversity-sensidvity training session will be held to boost banks' fair-lending compliance. And for bankers with compliance questions, a few regulators will be on hand.

Timothy Bumiston, deputy assistant policy director at the Office of Thrift Supervision, will talk about coming changes to CRA exams; Sarah Rosen, special assistant to the HUD assistant secretary for housing will discuss RESPA; and John W. Stone, executive director of supervision and resolutions at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., will give his agency's perspective on compliance.

Derrick D. Cephas, the former New York State superintendent of banks, will hold a session on the future of community banking.

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