{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.warnock.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warnock-highlights-concern-of-dwindling-small-community-banks-for-rural-georgians-americans/", "Warnock Highlights Concern of Dwindling Small Community Banks for Rural Georgians, Americans", "2025-09-10", "2025", "2025-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "GA", "Raphael G. Warnock", "W000790", "www.warnock.senate.gov", "warnock", "https://www.warnock.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/", "scraper", "During a Wednesday Senate Banking Committee hearing, Senator Reverend Warnock addressed the growing concern of deposit flight from small community banks to larger Wall Street institutions\n\nSenator Warnock highlighted the continued growth of big banks, while smaller community banks have seen a roughly 50% decline in the last few decades\n\nSenator Reverend Warnock during the hearing: \u201cSmall businesses, in my view, should not be punished for the mistakes of failed bank executives\u201d\n\nWatch Senator Reverend Warnock at Wednesday\u2019s hearing HERE\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, highlighted the importance of small community banks and their impact on rural areas across Georgia and the United States. Over the last twenty years, such banks have seen a 50% drop, while larger Wall Street institutions have continued to grow.\n\n\u201cWe have seen over the last two decades about a 50% drop in the number of community banks, and at the same time, Wall Street banks have continued to make more and more and more money, getting bigger and bigger,\u201d said Senator Warnock. \u201cHow should we ensure that small community banks \u2013 And let me be clear, I think there\u2019s a role in the larger ecosystem for the big banks and small community banks. But clearly all the movement has been going in one direction.\u201d\n\nThe hearing was held to evaluate perspectives on deposit insurance reform. Deposit insurance is a measure to protect bank depositors from losses caused by a bank\u2019s inability to pay its debts when due.\n\n\u201cSmall businesses, in my view, should not be punished for the mistakes of failed bank executives,\u201d said Senator Warnock.\n\nSenator Warnock has long advocated for smaller community banks and their support of small businesses and jobs in Georgia and across the country. The former chair of the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection, Senator Warnock, has spotlighted the important role of community financial institutions that provide financial support to underserved families, businesses, and non-profits.\n\nWatch the Senator\u2019s full remarks and line of questioning HERE.\n\nSee below the transcript of the key exchange between Senator Warnock and Kenneth Kelly, Chairman & CEO, First Independence Bank, and Bob Harrison, Chairman, President, and CEO, First Hawaiian Bank:\n\nSenator Reverend Warnock (SRW): \u201cDuring the spring 2023 banking crisis, many small businesses struggled simply to pay their employees and cover expenses, only because those businesses chose the wrong bank to keep their money safe. Small businesses, in my view, should not be punished for the mistakes of failed bank executives, and that\u2019s why I\u2019m glad this committee is looking at ways to reform deposit insurance. However, we should be careful not to place additional strains on our community banks, many of which serve populations and communities that giant Wall Street banks don\u2019t. Mr. Kelly community banks in Georgia and across the country compete with big banks by knowing and investing in the communities they serve. Are you concerned about deposit flight to big banks, where small businesses rush to put their money in the biggest Wall Street banks because they\u2019re nervous about keeping their money safe?\u201d\n\nKenneth Kelly (KK): \u201cYes, Senator Warnock, thank you for the question. I will tell you whatever it\u2019s called, if you look at what took place in 2023 there was inherent flight that was moving because of nervousness and anxiety within the business community. And so the efforts that we\u2019re talking about today hopefully will bolster confidence and allow small businesses to feel more confident in putting their monies in the small businesses in the small towns in the state of Georgia.\u201d\n\nSRW: \u201cIn fact, we have seen over the last two decades about a 50% drop in the number of community banks, and at the same time, Wall Street banks have continued to make more and more and more money, getting bigger and bigger. How should we ensure that small community banks \u2013 And let me be clear, I think there\u2019s a role in the larger ecosystem for the big banks and small community banks. But clearly all the movement has been going in one direction. \u2013 So how should we ensure that small community banks do not foot the bill for deposit insurance reform legislation?\u201d\n\nKK: \u201cI think it has to be carefully considered. We also have to ensure that there is adequate regulation. Senator Warnock on this topic, regulation can run and cause our businesses to be challenged economically. And you see, really, in looking at what\u2019s happening in the consolidation, a lot of that is economics. One issue I will bring up that\u2019s probably not part of this topic is when you look at things that look like a bank, act like a bank, and can buy a bank, it should be taxed like a bank. And my point is, we have a lot of inequities across the system that we need to deal with. Taxation is one of those that will allow these small institutions to stay in small towns like Griffin, Georgia or Hahira, Georgia, that\u2019s important to be sure that they become the lifeblood for economic prosperity in these small towns.\u201d\n\nSRW: \u201cSo this issue is further complicated by technology and other disruptors?\u201d\n\nKK: \u201cAbsolutely. I think partnerships, et cetera, are needed to help overcome those technological [challenges].\u201d\n\nSRW: \u201cSo we could see reform if we\u2019re not careful in Congress, that creates further consolidation?\u201d\n\nKK: \u201cThat is a concern. I think there could be unintended consequences\u2026\u201d\n\nSRW: \u201cThank you Mr. Keller. Mr. Harrison, how would a proposal to increase deposit insurance limits for business accounts help smaller community banks compete with big Wall Street?\u201d\n\nBob Harrison (BH): \u201cIt really levels the playing field. Senator, thank you for the question, and that\u2019s all we\u2019re asking for is being able to compete on a level playing field. When we saw some of those deposits leave after Silicon Valley, not only did they not come back, but then that introduced the larger banks into our customer base, and so you\u2019re fighting just to hold on to the customers you had and have serviced for many, many years. So by the higher deposit limit, knowing their operating account is safe, that you\u2019d be able to protect that and prevent that from happening next time.\n\nSRW: \u201cThank you very much. I think it\u2019s so important for us to get this right and to remain focused on getting this done but getting it done right so that we don\u2019t worsen the problem.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:10:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.warnock.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warnock-highlights-concern-of-dwindling-small-community-banks-for-rural-georgians-americans/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9211460128426552, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}