Oklahoma Bankers Association We make bankers better!
Well, here we are – 2025 has finally arrived and, frankly, it seemed like it was never going to get here.
The last couple of months of 2024 felt like the clock had stopped. Like the beginning of every new year, it’s a perfect time to reset and look forward with an optimistic view of what we’ll encounter in both Oklahoma City and Washington when it comes to legislation and treats from our regulatory agencies.
Obviously, every year we get the chance to reset, but for some reason this one feels a little different. The legislature in Oklahoma City starts in a couple of weeks and it already feels like it is going to be a stressful session.
I’ll dig deeper into those feelings in a minute.
When the new administration takes over the White House in a couple of weeks, change is going to come fast and furious and there will be action in every direction.
Some might think with the Republicans controlling Congress and the appointment of Republican-friendly agency heads, this will be smooth sailing for the banking industry. While traditionally Republicans have been supportive of our industry, not every Republican in Congress is what I would call a “conservative” Republican.
There are those in the majority who support our industry, and those in the majority who are supportive of our industry but also have other interests that may not align with what is best for banking.
The next couple of months in Washington, D.C., are going to be fast and furious. As you can tell by watching the news, the Trump Administration is wasting no time in getting started. Nothing substantial can really happen until the president is sworn into office on Jan. 20, but I would expect there to be a slew of executive orders on day one. Although, I doubt that there will be any that day that directly impact the banking industry.
What you can expect to happen early on is resignations from our regulatory agencies. We already know FDIC Chairman Gruenberg has announced his resignation, and I would expect the agency heads from the OCC and CFPB to either resign immediately or the new administration will fire them.
While we wait for the action to start on Jan. 20, there are some things that have already happened. We now officially have a new chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee. The new chairman of the House Financial Services Committee is French Hill, from Arkansas. Hill has represented the Second District in Arkansas since 2015. Prior to becoming chairman, Hill served as vice chairman of the committee and chairman of the new subcommittee tasked with overseeing all areas related to digital assets and financial technology. Prior to his Congressional service, Hill was founder, chairman and CEO of Delta Trust & Banking Corporation.
The new chairman of the Senate Banking Committee is Tim Scott, from South Carolina. Scott was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2013. Scott has been the ranking member on the committee for years. He has a history of supporting community banks and we look forward to working with him and his team.
All this information gives you a lay of the land for who’s in charge when things start happening in a few weeks. I’ve previously talked about all the rules and regs that are eligible to be repealed either with the Congressional Review Act or via the legislative process. When I say things are going to happen quickly, I mean we could start to see things like 1071, 1033 and many other regulatory rules start the process of repeal in the first month.
History will tell you the Republicans will likely have complete control for two years, but, historically, if the House is the same party as the president, it is likely to flip at the next election in 2026.
Two years sounds like a lot, but as slow as Washington moves, it’s not that much time at all.
Meanwhile, in Oklahoma City, the First Session of the 60th Oklahoma Legislature officially begins at noon on Monday, Feb. 3 when Gov. Stitt delivers his annual State of the State address.
We are expecting a lot of action this session as there are plenty of new legislators and a razor-tight margin in the Senate.
No, there hasn’t been an influx of Democratic senators you haven’t heard about. The Republicans have majority control of the Senate, but the two opposing groups are both in the Republican caucus of the Senate.
One group is led by Senate Pro Tempore of the Senate Lonnie Paxton and the other group is led by Sen. David Bullard. The Republican caucus meeting was held a couple of weeks ago to vote on who would be the next leader of the State Senate. The result of the vote wasn’t made public, but the unofficial rumor is Paxton won by only one vote.
Both groups are respective of each other, but it doesn’t mean they don’t disagree on issues. It will be interesting to see how votes fall when there is an issue everyone is passionate about.
One thing to keep an eye upon is the special election for Senate District 8. This seat was vacated by Roger Thompson on June 14. Candidate filing for this seat has already happened and the special general election will be on May 13.
There are several issues that are going to be front and center in the Senate when session starts. Taxes are always there, the issue will be to cut or not cut.
I know there is always an appetite to cut taxes, but the legislature has made tax cuts over the past couple of years, which might make it a little more difficult.
Although we don’t know for sure, the rumor is we won’t have the surplus that we did in previous years that allowed the legislature to make those cuts.
Other issues you will be hearing about during session will be budget transparency, infrastructure investment – both in the urban and rural areas –economic diversification and addressing mental health needs.
The State House, much like the Senate has new leadership. Speaker Charles McCall ran the show for the last eight legislative sessions. Rep. Kyle Hilbert (R-Bristow) now takes the helm. Hilbert has a history of supporting community banks and we look forward to working with him, not only this year, but for several years.
The House will continue to focus its attention on education, creating jobs and working to bring additional workforce to Oklahoma. It will also work on budget transparency and finding ways to streamline the process.
We will keep you updated when anything happens in Washington or Oklahoma City, and there will be times we will ask you to get involved in the process and reach out to your elected officials.
Next month, we will have a detailed list of everything introduced at the state level that could have an impact on your bank or could be beneficial to your bank.
We will definitely keep you posted.