Good afternoon from the Independent Bankers Association of Texas.

I am writing to alert you that, this morning, IBAT joined with the Longview Chamber of Commerce and other parties in filing a lawsuit against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to protest the unfair and inappropriatemanner in which the CFPB has expanded its Supervision and Examination Manual (Exam Manual) on “Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts and Practices.” The lawsuit was filed in the Eastern District of Texas of the United States District Court.

Under the revision, the Bureau extended the precepts of “fair lending” to all products and services offered by banks. Congress enacted the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. This addition to the Supervision Manual effectively creates an “Equal Deposit Opportunity Act” when Congress has clearly not authorized such a law.

Simply put, we believe that this overreach of the CFPB, among others, will have harmful impacts on our industry and the communities that we serve.

IBAT and its members are fully committed to fair and equitable treatment of customers and future customers. We expect, however, that the CFPB should not engage in “unfair” regulation. We believe that the CFPB should comply with the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) when they desire to subject regulated entities to new rules. In this instance, the CFPB stepped over the APA and went directly to a press release and a revision to the Exam Manual.

The CFPB, unlike other federal agencies, does not look to Congress for appropriations to fund its activities. Rather, the Dodd Frank Act handed it a blank check for its operations through its ability to tap funds from the Fed. Despite years of urging to create a more balanced governance mechanism, Congress has refused to create a governing board for the Bureau or subject the agency to Congressional appropriations. As a result, the Bureau’s focus and actions vary drastically from administration to administration, leading to the type of uncertainty that hurts American businesses and the customers that we aim to serve. If allowed to proceed with disregard for the APA, the Bureau will only become a greater tool of partisanship and source of uncertainty – an outcome that should worry anyone on either side of the political spectrum.

IBAT will be pleased to keep you apprised of developments with the complaint in the future.

We appreciate your support and the opportunity to serve you and the Texas community banking industry.

If you have questions about this action, please feel free to contact me by email. As always, you may also reach out to IBAT President and CEO Christopher Williston.

With thanks,

K. Kyle Irwin

Chairman

Independent Bankers Association of Texas

kirwin@westernbank.com