Regulators should "show some temperance" when examining financial institutions so that they can continue to lend money to help the economy improve, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank wrote NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz and the heads of the other financial regulatory agencies.

In the letter, which Frank (D-Mass.) wrote with fellow committee member Walter Minnick (D-Idaho), they said that community banks have become strong and viable players in the industry. Therefore, it "would be short-sighted to weaken that role through overzealous regulatory actions-actions based not on wrong-doing or poor management practices at these banks, but on changes in the economic environment and toughening regulatory standards."

The letter seemed to place them in the same category as community banks, but does not say it specifically.