Time to go on offense
By Colin Barrett
President/CEO, Tennessee Bankers Association
Ferris Bueller had it right: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” In banking, the pace of change in Washington over the past few months has been exactly that—fast—and most of it is moving in the right direction for Tennessee’s banks.
On a recent visit to the Treasury, an official told me something that stuck: our industry has gotten used to playing defense; it’s time to go on offense. That sentiment aligns with what we’re seeing across the federal landscape—proposals and bills that aim to right-size compliance, refocus supervision on real risk, and strengthen confidence in the deposit system.
The message from Washington is increasingly clear: banks matter, and policy should reflect that.
Start with deposit insurance. Senator Bill Hagerty’s Main Street Depositor Protection Act would provide up to $10 million in coverage for noninterest-bearing transaction accounts, the very accounts businesses rely on for payroll and operating cash. The bill also includes a sensible 10-year transition plan so community banks under $10 billion aren’t hit with special assessments just to fund the expanded coverage. If enacted, this will give Tennessee businesses greater certainty without saddling community banks with any additional costs.
Then there’s anti-money laundering modernization. Senate Banking Chairman Tim Scott’s STREAMLINE Act (with Sen. John Kennedy) targets one of the most persistent pain points in banking: outdated BSA thresholds that generate mountains of low-value filings. Their bill would raise the CTR threshold from $10,000 to $30,000 and lift SAR thresholds (from $2,000 to $3,000 and from $5,000 to $10,000, depending on the scenario), with inflation adjustments. The goal is simple: fewer check-the-box reports, more focus on meaningful, risk-based detection. That’s good for law enforcement and good for banks.
Supervision is shifting too. The OCC has rolled out a package to reduce regulatory burden for community banks, moving away from fixed examination calendars toward risk-based scope and frequency as well as clarifying model-risk expectations (no one-size-fits-all validations). Less time navigating duplicative filings means more time serving customers and communities. That’s not just empty rhetoric; it’s in the proposed bullets and rule text.
If you zoom out, a pattern emerges. Treasury leadership has been explicit about putting community banks back on offense—resetting supervision around material financial risk, encouraging a smarter AML framework, and supporting congressional efforts on deposit-insurance modernization. Whether you agree with every detail or not, the goal is unmistakable: tailor where appropriate, modernize where overdue, and focus scarce compliance resources where they meaningfully reduce risk.
What does this mean for Tennessee bankers? First, confidence. Expanded deposit protection for accounts—handled in a way that avoids piling costs onto smaller institutions—would help stabilize relationships in moments of stress. Second, capacity. Fewer filings and more tailored exams free up people and dollars for lending, treasury services, technology upgrades, and community financial education. Third, clarity. A supervision culture centered on real risk gives bankers and boards a clearer line of sight between what regulators expect and what genuinely makes banks safer.
All of this makes now the time to lean in—comment on rulemakings, brief your congressional delegation on how deposit insurance changes would help your customers, and share your stories about CTR/SAR burdens that divert from your efforts to serve your community. Policymakers are clearly listening; our job is to give them the Tennessee perspective, with specifics and solutions.
Life moves pretty fast. Right now, it’s moving in a direction that can strengthen Tennessee’s banks and the communities we serve and we must take advantage of this opportunity.