Banks have become increasingly frustrated with their federal regulators and, in a break with tradition, have brought the battle out into the open. In an effort to overturn new rules and challenge the legitimacy of regulators’ powers, bank lobbyists have added legal threats and public attacks to the more usual lobbying efforts that once took place behind closed doors on Capitol Hill. In recent months, trade groups representing banks of all sizes, including the American Bankers Association, the Independent Community Bankers of America and the Bank Policy Institute, have accused federal regulators like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Reserve of regulatory overreach. Cam Fine, a former longtime president of the community bankers group, said the cultural shift leading to the lawsuits was notable. In his 18 years at the group, he said, he could remember going to court only twice.

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Persons: Banks, Cam Fine Organizations: American Bankers Association, Independent Community Bankers of America, Bank Policy Institute, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Reserve