James I. Kaplan quoted in article "When Bankers Run for Office, Balancing Commitments Gets Tricky"

Below is an excerpt:

A bank could also face losing business if their employee and elected official votes a certain way on hot-button issues, Kaplan warned. Bankers may seek out municipal roles that are part time and nonpartisan as a way to help avoid this risk, or they could just shy away from highly contested races.

"There could be a lot of people who don't agree with you," Kaplan said. "You don't want to discourage potential customers over an issue that is not at the heart of the financial business, and you don't want [to lose a potential customer] because of your views on controversial political issues like same-sex marriage or abortion."

Originally published in American Banker, April 10, 2015