There may have been little complaining in public about federal bank regulations or the need to acquire bank loans, but that hasn’t altered Florida’s chief financial officer's mind about the 2010 Wall Street overhaul through Dodd-Frank.

CFO Jeff Atwater said he was getting such comments in private as he hosted nearly 200 small-business owners, from diverse backgrounds, from across the state in Tampa on Thursday and Friday.

And he said, based upon the reaction he received during the first ever Small-Business Leadership Forum held at the Weston Harbour Island, he may start planning to hold more regional conferences as a means to continue such give-and-take of ideas.

“I don’t think you’re going to find, when you line up small businesses, that they’ll say they do need financing right now; they’re often more shy talking about that, and most bankers don’t want to be talking about regulators out loud,” Atwater said.

“I think they’re holding that to the chest. Alone, bankers talk more openly than on stage and I’m OK with that.”

Atwater joined the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship at Florida State University to offer advice from online marketing and brand protection, to human resources and training, and legal issues.

At the same time, he wanted to gather input for issues the state could use to improve its business climate and possibly help push for the repeal of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, better known as Dodd-Frank.

The bill, named after sponsors Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., is in part responsible for limits being placed on access to capital.

Dodd-Frank, signed into law in July 2010, has been considered a harsh measure following the late 2000 recession that has overreached in restricting financial institutions and establishing government partnerships with large Wall Street institutions.

The Wall Street lobbying firm Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association has urged Congress not to change the law as a means to keep stronger enforcement from being pushed.

On Friday, Hugh Dailey, president and chief executive officer of Community Bank & Trust of Florida, and Jay DesMarteau, head of Small Business and Government Banking Distribution for TD Bank, said that while questions abound, Dodd-Frank remains under review.

Instead, they placed some of the blame for the difficulties in small business getting loans on a lack of applicants being fully prepared when applying, often failing to present adequate business plans or not having all their documents immediately available.

And they said that often small businesses wait until they are ready to close a deal that would expand their services before seeking to expand credit lines.

“We are seeing increases in the volume of loans and increases in loans. But who are getting loans? It’s the folks who are prepared,” said Greg Odell, business development officer at Wells Fargo in Tampa.



Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.