St Casimirs Mortgage Minute

ICBA Strongly Disagrees with U.S. Postal Service Bank Service Plan

President and CEO Cam Fine believes that the United States Postal Service entering the banking sector is a “disaster waiting to happen.” In a statement following the release of a new U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General’s proposal, Fine states that the last thing consumers need is more government intervention in Americans’ personal finances. “The Postal Service’s role in delivering the mail does not make it a good fit for handling credit or lending to consumers,” stated Fine in a press release. “The idea of trying to salvage a floundering operation by venturing into a new business with inherent risks and, for which the Postal Service has no qualifications or expertise, defies logic, reason and prudence.” ICBA has strongly opposed the OIG’s proposal since it was originally floated in a 2014 white paper, including in meetings with policymakers and in a joint letter to key members of Congress. In a blog post following the release of the white paper, Fine wrote that the proposal appears to be a last-ditch effort to save the struggling agency from bankruptcy and taxpayer-funded bailouts. --ICBA