FSR, Clearing House Association Combine to Form Bank Policy Institute

The Clearing House Association and the Financial Services Roundtable completed their merger on Monday to form the new nonpartisan research and advocacy group Bank Policy Institute (BPI), which represents the nation’s leading banks and their customers.

“The CEOs in the BPI represent millions of employees who are helping drive the economy ahead by serving their customers and clients,” said Brian Moynihan, Bank of America’s CEO and BPI’s chairman, in a statement. “On their behalf, we look forward to working with policymakers and elected officials, who share that objective with us.”

Greg Baer, BPI’s CEO, added in the statement that “all of BPI’s work will rest on a foundation of research and analysis.”

BPI, Baer continued, “will demonstrate that America’s leading banks are extraordinarily resilient and that the right balance of policies and regulations must be maintained to help ensure they continue to play their important role in helping drive economic growth.”

BPI members include universal banks, regional banks and the major foreign banks doing business in the United States, and collectively employ nearly 2 million Americans, make 72% of all U.S. loans and nearly half of the nation’s small-business loans, the new group said.

BPI’s staff includes economists, researchers, financial analysts and attorneys, “all focused on using data and analysis to shape sound policy,” the group said. The group will work with members of Congress, U.S. and global regulators, as well as with the academics and media by distributing academic-quality research papers and data-driven policy analysis through blog posts, white papers, comment letters and congressional testimony.

BITS, a BPI subsidiary dedicated to business, innovation, technology and security that’s led by C-Suite executives, will continue “leading innovative work in cybersecurity and technology,” the group announced.