Brad Barrett, president of the Tennessee Bankers Association, issued the following statement following Congressional action on the Wall Street rescue package:

Congress has acted responsibly by approving this Wall Street rescue package, and I, like all Americans, hope this action will calm markets here and abroad.

This rescue package has always been about Wall Street and investment banks, not about the commercial banks that serve families and businesses across this country. Unfortunately, the crisis on Wall Street has bred fear on Main Street. The loss of confidence in our financial institutions brings very real consequences for all of us. It affects our ability to borrow and lend money. It slows down the economic development that is so critical to recovery. It puts into doubt the safety of our jobs, our ability to pay for health care, the ability to keep our children in college.

This rescue plan puts the might of the federal government behind our financial institutions in order to restore that confidence here and around the world. Many people on the main streets of America opposed this rescue plan, in part, because they felt Wall Street would not be held accountable for its excesses of the past. I believe that time for accountability will come, but the first course of action was for the federal government to step in and restore stability to the financial markets and reassure depositors and investors. Certainly, the temporary increase in FDIC insurance from $100,000 to $250,000 per individual deposit account will go far in assuaging the concerns of our citizens, particularly our older Tennesseans who keep their retirement nest eggs in Tennessee banks.

For that reason, I applaud the courage displayed by our Tennessee congressional delegation who supported this package. They understood that the right thing is not always the most popular thing. They appreciated the complexity and gravity of this financial situation, and they responded promptly and correctly.

All along, I have said the financial institutions that are at the center of the Wall Street problems are investment banks – completely different from commercial banks where Tennesseans have their checking and savings accounts. Tennessee banks will continue to provide safety for depositors and to invest in the communities they serve. Our banks are well-capitalized and well-managed, and when we work through this crisis – and we will – we will be stronger than ever.