On Dec. 22 President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner met with representatives of small, community banks, and agreed to consider reforms that would reduce the regulatory burden on the industry.

According to The Hill, a newspaper covering Congress, the Independent Community Bankers of America, the primary group representing small banks, was among the most successful lobbying organizations in 2009.

According to The Hill, the group “helped secure a carve-out from examinations under the new Consumer Financial Protection Agency and an exemption from paying into a new industry fund to cover costs if the government takes over a failing financial firm.”