WASHINGTON-Five banking trade associations nudged the Senate Banking Committee to proceed with its version of financial services regulatory relief. In a letter to Committee Chairman Richard Shelby and Ranking Member Paul Sarbanes, the American Bankers Association, America's Community Bankers, Independent Community Bankers of America, Consumer Bankers Association, and The Financial Services Roundtable thanked the committee for the March 1 hearing and pushed for further legislative action. "The testimony of the witnesses demonstrated that there is an immediate need and broad support for moving forward on comprehensive regulatory relief legislation as soon as possible," the letter read. "We support a balanced regulatory structure that carefully guards the safety and soundness of the banking system and protects the interests of consumers through reasonable regulations." The bankers said they believe a balanced bill is possible now and pushed for a markup by the end of April.