Back in 2010 Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) said Dodd-Frank "would strengthen Montana's community banks and credit unions." He called it "a win for Main Street."

In an op-ed for the liberal Huffington Post website, he added, "The bill will not, however, affect Montana’s banks. Montana’s Main Street banks and credit unions played by the rules during the financial crisis. I made sure this bill won’t create more hassles or costs for banks that do honest business."

That was 2010. Let's fast forward to 2018. Now, Sen. Jon Tester is admitting that the very regulations he passed into law have forced Montana companies out of business.  We've since seen a 31% decline in state chartered banks in Montana. Credit unions, meanwhile, have seen more than a 10% decline.

I spoke about all of the above stories dug up by the Republican National Committee's (RNC) research team, and more, as the RNC's Kayleigh McEnany joined us on Wednesday morning's "Montana Talks" radio show.

The story goes even further. Did Tester's Dodd-Frank rollback reversal have anything to do with the 2018 election? The RNC's research team adds this:

Tester Is Among The Top Three Senate Recipients Of Campaign Donations From Financial Firms During The 2018 Cycle. “Financial firms upped their campaign contributions to key Senate Democrats over the last year, with Heitkamp, Donnelly and Tester becoming the top three Senate recipients of donations from commercial banks so far in the 2018 campaign cycle , according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The senators disputed any connection between the donations and their support for the Dodd-Frank rewrite legislation.” (Erica Werner and Damian Paletta, “10 Years After Financial Crisis, Senate Prepares To Roll Back Banking Rules,” The Washington Post, 3/4/18)

 


   

 

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