FDIC Federal Register Citations

Mechanics Savings Bank

From: Antonio Joaquin [mailto:TJoaquin@Mechanicssavings.com]
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2004 11:02 AM
To: Comments
Subject: Community Reinvestment: RIN number 3064-AC50

Antonio Joaquin
Senior Vice President
Mechanics Savings Bank
100 Minot Ave, Box 400
Auburn, ME 04212

September 20, 2004

Robert E. Feldman

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
550 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20429

Dear Robert Feldman:

As a community banker, I am pleased to comment in support of the proposal
issued by the FDIC that would amend the definition of a small institution
to be a bank that is under $1 billion in assets. I believe that this
change will provide much needed regulatory burden relief for me and other
community bankers. It seems that every week there is a new or additional
regulation with which we must comply. This is one example of regulatory
burden relief that will really make a difference. I would much rather use
the limited resources available to my bank to serve my community than to
collect and maintain data and documents to prove to examiners that I am
meeting the needs of my community.

Mechanics Savings Bank is a mutual savings bank with less than $220
million in assets. Mechancis has four (4) locations and less than 80
employees. We are operating in a very competitive and strive to provide
quality customer service and products to all of our communities.

Compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act is something we take very
seriously at our bank. We don’t just believe it is the right thing to do;
we believe it is the right business thing to do. No community bank can
survive and compete without meeting the needs of its customers and
communities. We believe in our community and in our customers and want to
work with them to provide products and services that best meet their
credit needs. We do not need a complicated examination process to show
that we are complying with the law.

It is absurd to think that a bank thousands of times larger than my own
community bank should be examined using the same procedures. I strongly
urge you to amend the definition of a small bank for CRA purposes to be an
institution with less than $1 billion in assets, regardless of whether the
bank is part of a holding company. This is a good proposal and is the
right thing to do.

Thank you for considering my views.

Sincerely,

Antonio Joaquin