Lawmakers welcome Main Street lobbies

Credit unions had more influence on financial regulation than Wall Street.

Lawmakers aren't afraid to admit that they consulted at least one bank lobby during the financial regulation bill.
Credit unions, the nation's smallest financial institutions, organized an effective grassroots campaign during the debate to ensure that they would not have to suffer for Wall Street's mistakes.
As the House and Senate started to reconcile their versions of financial regulation Thursday, the Washington Post   reported on the lobby:

Credit union members have submitted 375,000 e-mails, letters and phone calls over the past two weeks, and about a thousand credit union executives are swarming Capitol Hill this week.

Wall Street may have more money to lobby, but the article states that lawmakers preferred to listen to this smaller group:

Again and again, big banks have been outpaced by small-town interests, proving that even when it comes to overhauling financial regulation, politics really is local.
Community bankers, auto dealers and other Main Street businesses have won exemptions from proposed new regulations by repeating a mantra not available to big Wall Street firms: We didn't cause the crisis.

Lawmakers were more sensitive to these groups' concerns because they have a presence, and represent votes, in every congressional district.
Credit unions aren't done lobbying yet on financial regulation. They continued to meet with lawmakers Thursday over an amendment to limit the fees merchants charge when consumers swipe their credit and debit cards.
The small banks say they will lose out if Congress tries to curb the profits generated by those fees.
-- Ambreen Ali, Congress.org