ABA to Support Extension of TAG
A news brief entitled, "ABA Board Votes to Support Two-Year Extension of TAG Program" sent out by The American Bankers Association last week says, "The ABA Board of Directors yesterday -- at the recommendation of the ABA Government Relations Council's Administrative Committee -- voted to support a two-year extension of the Transaction Account Guarantee program that is slated to expire at the end of the year.... The ABA Board emphasized, however, that there will be no "quid pro quo" for extending TAG -- particularly no language raising the credit union member business-lending cap -- and ABA will adamantly oppose any amendment or other additions to the TA's enabling legislation that would be detrimental to the business of banking. The decision to support a TAG extension comes a week and a half after the FDIC provided key information on the program's performance that both ABA and House Financial Institutions Subcommittee Chairman Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) had aggressively sought. During ABA's deliberative decision-making process, it also has gathered a multitude of opinions from across the industry on the extension issue. In making the decision to support a two-year TAG extension, the ABA Board noted that while the economy has generally improved, that improvement has not been robust, and many areas of the country still suffer from the economic downturn. Recent evidence also suggests that the economy has again slowed considerably and uncertainty about the future pace of the economic growth has risen.... The ABA Board believes that extending the TAG program for two years is consistent with the Fed's actions and will help to promote economic stability, facilitate job growth and reduce uncertainty. While it is difficult to move any bill through the current Congress in the hyper-partisan environment of an election year, ABA will marshal its resources to obtain the introduction and passage of the TAG extension's enabling legislation."
