Take a Fresh Look at your Overdraft Practices
Recent
amendments to Reg. E that go into effect July 1
have created a renewed focus on overdraft practices. Whether
you have a formal overdraft privilege program, still handle
daily overdrafts on a case-by-case basis or something in
between, Reg. E will affect your bottom line and the service
your customers receive. Even banks that, as a practice, do
not pay debit card transactions into overdraft status could
be significantly affected by the new rules.
More about Strunk & Associates overdraft practices...
Provide Your Company with Flood Zone Relief for Challenging
Times
During the best of times, lenders seek
reliable, easy-to-use services offered at a fair price. In a
turbulent financial climate, these requests quickly turn
into critical needs.
Federal Flood Certification Corp.
calms the Flood Zone Determination
process through their cost-effective approach that protects
lenders, expedites the closing process, and helps the bottom
line.
More about flood zone relief...
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Annual GBA D.C. Legislative
Visit Coming Up, Input Needed
 Our
annual trek to the nation's capital is just a few weeks away, May 4-6.
We've got representatives from our Board of Directors, Public Affairs
Committee and BankPAC Board going on the trip. Along with meetings with
our elected representatives, we have briefings scheduled with the
Federal Reserve, FDIC, OCC, ABA and Federal Housing Finance Agency.
More about our D.C. Visit...
State
Legislature Crawling Toward
Adjournment
The
General Assembly was in session three days this week and is scheduled to
return April 20 with four legislative days remaining in the session. The
budget is still the first priority and
the House passed their version this week. Summarizing bank-related
action, we do know that mortgage fees
are going to increase, testimony about interchange
legislation got postponed and GBA testified about
Materialmen Liens.
Details and more state legislative
news...
Update: Legal Lending Limits and Insider Loans
Some
questions have come up that we need to pass along related to this year's
adoption of GBA's priority legislation,
HB 926, which allows state chartered banks to renew loans that would
have otherwise exceeded the bank’s lending limit because of capital
erosion. As a reminder, the recent amendment to this Georgia law
does not affect how Regulation O rules governing renewals of loans to
bank insiders are interpreted by bank regulatory agencies. More
about Insider Loan rules...
In the News:
NY Times
Columnist Gets it Wrong
 In
a widely-circulated opinion story, Paul Krugman of the New
York Times erroneously claimed the well documented troubles of
Georgia's small banks are related to predatory and subprime lending.
Yeah, we did a double take, too, when we read that. Georgia's small
banks are not subprime lenders and have never been accused of making
predatory loans. Unfortunately, the Atlanta Journal Constitution
also printed the same editorial. We certainly won't let such
claims go unanswered.
Read our response to the Times...
Key Program
Extended to Fully Insure Certain Transaction Accounts
We
were pleased the FDIC this week approved an interim rule to extend the
Transaction Account Guarantee (TAG) program to Dec. 31, 2010. Without an
additional extension, the program will end June 30. The proposed interim
rule is out for comment.
Why the TAG
program extension is important for members...
FDIC Proposes New Assessment Formula
The FDIC Board this week proposed a rule to dramatically
change the assessment formula used for the nation’s largest
banks. The FDIC’s proposal also would adjust the overall
rate schedule for all banks to ensure the new system does
not generate more revenue than the existing system.
Details about the assessment proposal, let us know what you
think...
Econ.
Activity Improves for Fed's Atlanta District
 The
Federal Reserve's quarterly Beige Book economic report is out this week
with some encouraging overall news. For the Atlanta District, bankers
continued to indicate that ample credit was available to
qualified borrowers, and many noted that the volume of loan
applications was low for households and small businesses.
Other business contacts around the District described
economic activity as improving in March and early April.
More about the Fed's Beige Book report...
Welcome New Associate Members
Congratulations to the
following companies that were approved for associate membership at the
April 13 GBA Board of Directors meeting:
-
CoNetrix,
Lubbock, TX, Jon Troutman, Sales Manager; Security,
Compliance and IT consulting
-
PDP Group, Inc.,
Hunt Valley, MD, John Pearson; Vehicle Title Administration
-
Rubinger, Inc,
Atlanta, David Rubinger, President; Communications and
Public Relations
GBA Asks Members to Show Support for
Those Serving in the National Guard and Reserve
The GBA affirmed its
support of the National Guard and Reserve April 13, 2010, when the GBA
Board approved and GBA
President and CEO and former National Guardsman
Joe Brannen signed a formal Statement of Support for the Guard
and Reserve sponsored by Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR).
Brannen said,
"Our Board is
challenging all GBA Members to join with us in demonstrating your
support by also signing a Statement of Support."
How you can support the Guard and Reserve, too...
Recognize Your 50-Year Bankers
GBA is proud to
recognize Georgia bankers who have devoted 50 years or more of service
to the banking industry. It's an annual tradition for these bankers to
be honored at the
Annual Convention
in June. We need your help, though.
Details about how to recognize
your 50-year bankers...
NEW!
Compliance Guidelines for Bank Boards: Is Your Board Prepared?
Training your board of
directors on the regulatory impacts on your bank's operations is
critical to protecting your bank, but it is not an easy task. Now, with the
ABA's new Compliance Guidelines for Bank Boards, you can keep your Board
well-informed and well-trained on the most recent regulations so that
they can provide adequate oversight. And, they'll be prepared before
your bank's next regulatory exam.
More about ABA's new Compliance Guidelines for Bank Boards...
Newsmakers
Keener |
Herman |
Read All About It --
Send Us Your News
Please remember to include the Georgia
Bankers Association on the list of recipients for
announcements about promotions, new employees and special
recognition your bank has received. We want to share your
news with your colleagues across the state. Please forward
your announcements and photos to GBA's
Lydia Thomas. |
YOUR CAREER
Career Paths for BankersTM
The 44
most-common bank job descriptions, the skills/competencies
you need to have those jobs and links to training and
development by job title.
Job Bank
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HEADLINE EVENTS
Hot
Topic Webinar!
Getting Ahead of the Headlines: How to Lead Your Bank
through a Tough News Event
April 27
Enroll Now in
Banking School
May 2-7
New!
Executive Management Short Course
May 6-7
In coordination with Georgia Banking School
GBA Annual Convention
Sponsorships Available
June 13-16
Leadership Conference
How to Deal With Culture Shock
July 11-14
Rural Development and Lending Conference
Peer Discussions Featured
May
13-14
Managing Workouts to Optimize Portfolio Value
April 22
Legal Issues for New Account Documentation
April 27
National Teach Children to Save Day
April 27
Bank Trainer Peer Group Meeting
May 6
AIB Online Instructor Led Courses
AIB Online IRA Training
Introduction to IRAs
Webinars
Full GBA-U Calendar |
