WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to a question from U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) during a Senate Budget Committee Hearing today, Chair of the Federal Reserve Board Janet Yellen announced her support for the nomination of a candidate with community bank experience to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. In a letter last month, King, along with a bipartisan group of his colleagues, had urged President Obama to nominate just such a candidate.

“Chairwoman Yellen is absolutely right – the Federal Reserve Board would be well-served by someone with community bank experience, and on the heels of my letter to the President, I’m very pleased she recognizes that,” Senator King said. “Community banks are only going to play an increasingly important role in our economic recovery as American families and small businesses turn to them for financial assistance, which is why it’s essential that their interests are fully represented at the Federal Reserve.”

Maine is home to 27 community banks, and since entering the Senate, Senator King has fought to reduce the regulatory burdens placed on them. He is a cosponsor of the bipartisan Privacy Notice Modernization Act which would allow banks that do not share customer information the option to forego delivery of costly annual written notice unless there has been a change in the bank's privacy policy. Senator King has also frequently spoken out against the detrimental impact that regulations imposed by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act have on community banks.

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