By Stephen Dick
The Herald Bulletin
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.
