Be a changer or a changee

We have all heard the saying - Change is good.  I have often wondered though if person who coined that phrase really understood all of the potential influences on change.  Sports teams change players or coaches regularly and not always is the team better. Change in a sports team can be driven by egos, money or poor performance.  Mind you, I am not an advocate of no change.  I just think that change driven by a need for improvement or a better way of doing something is the best change.

Congress is currently forcing many changes in all areas of financial services.  Admittedly, there are items that have changed that truly are better for all involved, even if it was painful to do.  Unfortunately, many of the new laws and regulations don't have that positive impact and really won't improve the situation for most consumers or financial institutions. Many of the new requirements for mortgage lending are only driving up the cost of a mortgage for the consumer, who ultimately pays for any new regulation and often times, the new regs slow down the process.  This means the consumer is getting less and paying more in many situations.  Not really what one would hope for from change.

Where or when will it stop?  It's hard to know and financial institutions need to get out in front of this and lead the change instead of reacting to the change.  We should all be better at advocating for our members or customers and leading the change on meaningful regulations to keep those few bad apples in check. We should be writing proposed disclosures instead of the CFPB and presenting them after testing with our cross section of consumers.  Isn't it better to get out in front of change?

In football, coaches often tell players that they can be a hitter or hittee.  Maybe financial institutions should decide if they are going to be a changer or a changee.