BENTON, KY – Community Financial Services Bank (CFSB) Chairman and CEO, J. Michael Radcliffe testified April 29, 2025 before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services, Subcommittee on Financial Institutions, in Washington, D.C. His testimony addressed the growing challenges that regulatory overreach poses to community banks and rural economies across America, and was prepared with the support of the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA).
The hearing, titled “Regulatory Overreach: The Price Tag on American Prosperity,” featured Radcliffe as a key voice advocating for the role and survival of community banks. Representing CFSB, a $1.3 billion institution serving rural western Kentucky since 1890, Radcliffe emphasized the essential services community banks provide to small businesses, farmers, and families, and how disproportionate regulatory burdens threaten those services.
“Community Financial Services Bank and other community banks are not just financial institutions; we are lifelines for the communities we serve. The increasing regulatory burden threatens to extinguish this vital part of our financial ecosystem, leaving rural and underserved areas without access to essential services,” said Radcliffe during his testimony.
Radcliffe highlighted several pressing concerns, including the impact of the CFPB’s 1071 Rule, which he described as “administratively burdensome and an invasion of borrower privacy,” as well as the hidden costs of regulatory expectations not formally mandated but enforced during bank examinations. He called for a tiered regulatory framework that scales compliance requirements to the size and complexity of financial institutions.
Radcliffe’s testimony echoed ICBA’s Repair, Reform, and Thrive plan and supported legislative efforts aimed at reform, including:
* The TAILOR Act of 2025, which promotes proportional regulation,
* The FDIC Board Accountability Act, adding community bank expertise to federal oversight,
* The Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act, protecting consumers from invasive mortgage data sales,
* And the TRUST and SMART Acts of 2025, offering regulatory relief to well-managed community banks.
“Community banks hold just 13% of total banking assets but deliver nearly 60% of small business loans and over 80% of agricultural loans nationwide,” Radcliffe noted. “We need thoughtful reform to continue this critical support for local economies.”
CFSB commends Congress for recognizing these issues and is honored to be a voice in this important conversation. As Radcliffe concluded, “With the right reforms, we can ensure that community banks not only survive but thrive, continuing to fuel American prosperity from the ground up.”
Radcliffe will return to D.C. for the ICBA Capital Summit on May 12th to visit with Kentucky’s congressional delegation. The ICBA Legislative Issues Subcommittee will meet at this time, which Radcliffe also serves on.