ANDERSON, Ind. —
Democratic Indiana Treasurer candidate Pete Buttigieg wants to see Indiana banks play a larger role in the economic recovery and offer up more loans to create jobs.
Buttigieg visited The Herald Bulletin on Thursday to talk about his plan.
“Without passing one new law or writing a single new regulation, we can use our collective power as a customer to effect change and encourage banks to be more responsible community partners,” her said. “This will help free up credit, stimulate economic growth and put people back to work.”
Buttigieg explained that the Indiana treasurer deposits $1.5 billion into banks and this is done mostly under the radar. Currently, he noted, not one of the top six banks with Indiana taxpayer deposits is in Indiana. “So we’re shipping (all that money) out of state.”
By using those tax dollar deposits as a carrot on a stick, Buttigieg hopes local banks would begin making more loans to small businesses which, in turn, would hire more people.
“The state of Indiana is a very lucrative customer for banks,” he said. “Those banks make millions off the stable cash flow taxpayers provide.”
Buttigieg wants banks to follow a list of guidelines that include the following:
u An Indiana headquarters or a large proportion of in-state employees
u Compliance with obligations to the Community Reinvestment Act
u Compliance with future requirements of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
u A track record of community-oriented financial innovation, such as lending to micro enterprises
If elected, Buttigieg said, he will form a committee comprised of financial, business, labor, academic and consumer advocacy leaders to formalize his principles and develop reporting procedures within his first 60 days in office.
“In these tough economic times, state government needs to find new and creative ways to make our tax dollars work harder and smarter for us,” Buttigieg said.
The South Bend native said this is his first try for public office. A graduate of Harvard, he’s also a Rhodes Scholar.
Contact Steve Dick: 640-4863; steve.dick@heraldbulletin.com.
State News
State treasurer candidate wants banks to help communities
- State News
-
-
Eight indicted in Indiana-Kentucky gambling ring
The owner of a Jeffersonville auto shop and seven other Louisville, Ky.-area men were arrested Wednesday on federal charges alleging they ran an interstate sports bookmaking operation.
-
No links seen in missing Louisiana, Indiana student cases
Investigators in Lafayette, La., don't believe there are links between the disappearance of a college student and that of a student who has been missing for a year from Bloomington, Ind., a Lafayette police spokesman said Tuesday.
-
Indiana coroner: Texas man in standoff killed himself
A coroner says a Texas man who held a northwestern Indiana realty office hostage during an hours-long standoff died from two self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the head.
-
Hundreds pay respects to slain Indiana soldier
Hundreds of people turned out for the funeral of a northeastern Indiana soldier who was killed by enemy rocket fire in Afghanistan.
-
Allisonville Road bridge project in Indianapolis begins Wednesday
The already rough commute on the Northeastside of Indianapolis will only get longer this summer.
To complete a $19 million road improvement as quickly as possible, state highway officials Wednesday will close the Allisonville Road bridge over I-465 for up to 110 days.
-
Delaware County grandstand likely done by July
Delaware County says the show will go on this summer with new fair grandstand after it demolished the old one because of safety concerns found during an inspection prompted by the deadly Indiana State Fair stage collapse.
-
Fort Wayne officials give tax breaks another look
Officials in a northeastern Indiana city are taking another look at their policy on property tax abatement, which critics consider too generous but supporters contend is needed to attract businesses.
-
Police probe similarities in missing IU student
Police in Bloomington say they have contacted authorities in Louisiana about their search for a college student whose disappearance has similarities to that of an Indiana University student who has been missing for nearly a year.
-
Census: Hispanics boosting Indiana's small towns
Hispanics are fueling population growths in many small Indiana towns that are seeing their white populations shrink, census figures show.
-
Indy 500 in the books, but heat isn't a record
Fans sought shade under the grandstands and beneath umbrellas. Misting stations got a healthy workout. But Sunday's Indianapolis 500 won't go down in the record books as the hottest in the 101-year history of the race.
- More State News Headlines
-
Eight indicted in Indiana-Kentucky gambling ring
