Elizabeth Dole

“ The work that you do – enhancing financial stability among consumers, providing investment counsel, and in many cases, educating consumers on something as basic as the need for a savings account – promotes the American dream of opportunity for all our citizens. ”

“ The very word bank tends to mean security, a concept we as consumers are increasingly striving for in our own lives. And banks are clearly established and anchored in our communities, with the equipment in place to deliver services to any town in any part of America. ”

“ Many people today are understandably excited about banking opportunities on the Internet. New alliances, new products, new markets are all possible through the Internet. But to my mind, the Internet can never totally replace the local bank. Sure, we all witnessed the emergence of Internet banks in the late 1990’s; but these banks never really caught on. When consumers are making major personal financial decisions, the Internet can be a very helpful research tool. The Internet is also very useful for consumers who monitor their bank accounts online. ”

“ It is my strong belief that institutions that are fully integrated will be the true winners. In the past few years we have seen a trend of financial institutions seeking the ability to provide consumers all of their monthly financial services information on one statement. It is simplicity and convenience that consumers crave, and the institutions that are able to bundle and discount their services will prosper. ”

“ We are face to face with our destiny, and we must meet it with a high and resolute courage. For ours is the life of action, of strenuous performance of duty. Let us live in the harness, striving mightily. ”

“ Congress created them to provide needed liquidity to the mortgage market at a time when banks were limited in the number of loans they could make by the assets they held. As the market grew, Congress decided, that in exchange for the duopoly control, Fannie and Freddie should also fulfill a public mission: creating greater affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans. This effort has been critical to minorities—less than half of minorities own their own home, compared to three-quarters of white Americans. ”

“ Today we find ourselves at a crossroads that will determine the future of the delivery of financial services in this new century. With the passage of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act a few years ago, financial services companies are now beginning to offer new products. ”

“ In addition, I believe it is important for Congress to take up and pass strong bankruptcy reform, which would ensure that more Americans who have the money, pay off their debts before being given bankruptcy protection. ”

“ Fannie and Freddie talk a good game about helping low-income individuals. But their definitions of low-income are much higher than the requirements all of you must fulfill in your Community Reinvestment Activities (CRA) . This must change. They need a strong world-class regulator. They need a better definition of low-income. They need to use their implicit subsidy to truly lower the costs of homeownership for all Americans. ”

“ The current fixed designated reserve ratio of 1.25 percent brought us too close to this possibility in 2002 – at a time when our economy needed more liquidity in banks, not less. I support legislation to replace the hard 1.25 percent trigger with a flexible trigger, which can postpone assessments until the economy is stronger. As you know, there are many in Congress who are seeking to raise deposit insurance coverage levels. ”

“ These are the things that will allow you to continue to reach out to those who previously could not afford your services or who had to rely on costly alternatives. I believe that we have made some good progress in my first year in the Senate, and I look forward to continuing this fight with you in the years to come. We have our work cut out for us. ”

“ This will reduce the inefficiency of moving an estimated 37 million paper checks around the nation daily. In this new environment, banks stand in the best position to excel and to serve consumer needs. ”