A majority of small bank executives are concerned about the impact of new regulations on their mortgage lending business, according to an industry trade group.
Nearly three-quarters of community bankers say that new residential mortgage rules are preventing them from making more loans, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Independent Community Bankers of America.
Nearly 80% of respondents also said that they had beefed up their compliance staff in the past five years.
"ICBA's 2014 Community Bank Lending Survey validates what many community banks have long predicted — that new restrictions on mortgage lending are reducing much-needed access for mortgage credit,” said Camden Fine, president and CEO of the ICBA, in a press release.
Only one-quarter of bankers said they are providing loans that fall outside of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's qualified mortgage rule, which sets heightened underwriting standards.
