ABA Perspective
COVID-19 Turns One: Lessons Learned fom a Global Health Crisis
As impossible as it is to believe, we have been living in a global pandemic for an entire year. What began as a headline from a distant corner of the world quickly became a worldwide health crisis that continues to wreak havoc on our way of life and has, unfortunately, claimed the lives of too many of our fellow citizens.
Rob Nichols, President and CEO American Bankers Association
As I reflect on the last 12 months and the incredible changes that occurred virtually overnight to keep our society moving in the face of perilous uncertainty, I am filled with a deep sense of pride in how the banking industry stepped up to help make that happen. It speaks to the “can-do” spirit of America’s 2 million bank employees. As the world was shutting down and daily
routines were being upended, bankers embraced their role as economic first responders and got to work extending aid that helped keep individuals and businesses afloat.
With vaccines now being rolled out to certain groups, we are anxiously awaiting the day when we can finally return to some semblance of a normal life. But, achieving herd immunity from the virus will take time. As we prepare to mark one full year of quarantines, social distancing and face coverings, I’d like to offer a few observations.
Our financial system is resilient. Aſter the last financial crisis, banks worked diligently to increase safety and soundness and manage risk more effectively. Te post-2008 reforms were intended to help banks better absorb financial shocks — and the success of those reforms was borne out in the crisis response. It was widely acknowledged, by everyone from Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, that banks performed well and were part of the solution to the coronavirus crisis.
Tanks to the strength of our financial system, there is reason to be hopeful for the economic recovery.
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