WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- A critical bank lobbying group in Washington is preparing to fight a bank fee proposal for unfairly targeting a select group, sources close the industry said.
The Security Industry and Financial Markets Association said last week it had hired constitutional attorney Carter Phillips, who has argued numerous cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, as it looks into a White House proposal to recoup $90 billion of Trouble Asset Relief Program funds by charging large banks a fee.
The banks contend that targeting large banks that have already paid back the TARP funding is unfair, The New York Times reported Monday.
Obama has asked the industry to "consider simply meeting your responsibilities," rather than "sending a phalanx of lobbyists to fight this proposal or employing an army of lawyers and accountants to help evade the fee."
Andrew DeSouza, a spokesman for the association said it was "premature to speculate on any potential actions beyond opposing the proposal itself as both punitive and counterproductive."
An e-mail sent to industry attorneys last week, however, pointed to a strategy of arguing the fee on constitutional grounds.
The e-mail said the lobby group had retained Phillips' services and suggested the proposal might be unconstitutional, the Times said.
