Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Scott Brown (R-Mass.) announced this week that they would vote for the final financial regulatory reform package, including the NSBA-supported swipe-fee compromise. This gives Democrats the requisite 60 votes and clears the way for the bill’s passage later this week.

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), seen by some as a possible Democratic holdout, cited small-business support in his state for the swipe-fee provisions in his statement announcing that he would vote for the bill.

While the conference committee’s swipe-fee compromise was not ideal and painful concessions were made, NSBA was pleased with the progress its implementation would signify and urged its adoption without alteration.

Although some independent community banks had opposed the swipe-fee provisions, the head of the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), Camden Fine, sent an email in late June to state bank trade association executives, urging them to stay out of the fight over the legislation’s final passage.

While maintaining the bill had some “stick bombs,” like swipe-fee reform, that the organization would continue to fight against, Fine wrote: “Do you really think Wall Street mega firms give a rat’s ass about small banks? Hell no. They only care about the credibility small banks can wield on Capitol Hill to get them out from under this rock.”

Outlook
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is expected to file cloture on the bill imminently and the Senate is likely to vote on the measure on Thursday.

The full U.S. House of Representatives approved the conference report on June 30, just prior to the July 4 recess—in a mostly party-line vote of 237-192. Three Republicans voted in favor of the bill, and 19 Democrats opposed it.

For more on the final financial regulatory reform package, please click here.