Remarks from Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent at Event with Arizona Bankers in Phoenix

As prepared for delivery. 

Good afternoon. Thank you all for joining us today. The spy novelist John le Carré famously wrote that a desk is a dangerous place from which to watch the world. So, I try to get out from behind mine as often as I can. And whenever I travel, one of my priorities is to meet with local bankers who put the savings of a community to work for those who are building its future. Of course, community banks devote a far greater share of their assets to small businesses than the largest institutions. Despite holding only 15 percent of industry assets and deposits, you account for 40 percent of small-business loans. A financial system that relies so heavily on local and community banks means Washington should have taken greater care not to weaken them. Since the Great Financial Crisis, half of community and small banks have disappeared under the weight of overregulation. Yet in 2023, all that supervision did little to spare our country from suffering three of the largest bank failures in its history. Dodd-Frank was supposed to end “too big to fail.” Instead, it created “too small to succeed.” To expand opportunity for all Americans, the banks that serve Main Street must have the same chance to succeed as those that serve Wall Street. President Trump is determined to see that they do. But today, we are also here to discuss how the same community ties that make local banks essential to economic growth place them on the front lines of national security. Here in Arizona, your vigilance is especially vital. President Trump has taken historic action to seal our southern border. Still, Arizona remains uniquely exposed to the aftershocks of Biden’s border crisis, including cartels and criminal organizations that seek to conceal illicit proceeds within legitimate channels. So, under the President’s leadership, we are bringing the same resolve that secured the border to safeguard our financial system. A recent Executive Order directed Treasury and our regulatory partners to protect against fraud and abuse, improve the detection of illicit financial activity, and ensure that America’s financial institutions are not used to facilitate unlawful conduct among unauthorized work populations. We have moved swiftly to deliver on each of those directives. In June, Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an advisory to help institutions identify schemes involving unlawful employment, labor brokers, shell companies, payroll tax evasion, identity theft, and other forms of financial exploitation. And in recent weeks, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency reinforced that work with new guidance on lending to borrowers who are not legally authorized to work in the United States. OCC’s guidance advises financial institutions to identify, measure, monitor, and control credit risks through safe and sound underwriting practices that assess a borrower’s willingness and capacity to repay. Taken together, these actions reflect a broader effort to deny unlawful activity any foothold. This Administration will not tolerate blatant abuse of our financial system, nor will it permit risks posed by the extension of financial services to illegal aliens. Now, to be sure, we do not ask bankers to assume the burdens of border enforcement. But we depend on banks to do what you do best: know your customers, identify risks as they arise, and report suspicious patterns before they metastasize into criminal schemes. This is where local knowledge acquires the force of national consequence. And it is how an act of discernment in one community can help fortify a financial system well beyond it. At Treasury, we follow the money. Yet no office in Washington can detect every dubious transaction or prevent every payroll scheme at its source. Because you know the ordinary course of commerce in your communities, you are often the first to identify when it has been compromised. Arizona bankers, as we will hear more about momentarily, are demonstrating the kind of partnership that President Trump’s Executive Order envisions. And by investing in compliance programs and employee training, filing suspicious activity reports, and sharing information that can prevent criminal activity, you are exemplifying the type of leadership that Treasury expects. Of course, that partnership carries obligations in both directions. We are committed to giving you better tools to stop fraud before it gathers scale. And while we ask you to watch over the integrity of our financial system carefully, that work compels those of us in Washington to listen to our community bankers just as closely. That is the purpose of today’s visit. It’s why I am here in Arizona. And it’s why I look forward to the discussion ahead. So thank you all once again for being here. For your work to widen the doors of opportunity. And for your commitment to closing the channels of illicit finance. Thank you.