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I established my bank in 1988.

What the study I chaired actually said was we needed tougher regulation of cash and capital in banks, as credit was too easy. Events proved that right.

Banks were once places to hold money and were very careful in lending to finance families as they built a future - bought homes, bought cars, took out student loans.

I ran a 'loan modification machine.'

I happen to know a bit about banking.

The banks are not lending, at least from what I see. They were so wild and reckless back in the good times that they got burned terribly.

Rather than going through a commercial banking training program, at the first bank I ever worked in, I was the chairman. And it was my own money, so we loaned it out like it was my own money.

People with banking experience haven't all flocked to the biggest banks; community banks and regional banks, along with smaller trading houses and credit unions, have some very talented people.

I'm all in favor of banks that play their part in community endeavors, private individuals looking for loans, people who want to start up a little business, and that's what banks are for.

We've been in the business of regional banking, and we understand what it is to make loans, and that's the engine of growth to small and medium sized business.