Legislative Update

General Assembly Passes GBA Priority Bill; Active Week on Others

It was a fast-paced week in the Legislature with several GBA priority bills receiving attention. The House overwhelmingly passed the bill we supported that allows non-attorneys to answer garnishments. We also saw committee action on bills that affect notices of default to guarantors, homeowners association transfers and mortgage fraud, among others. We've been working within a coalition of interested parties on the bill that would establish a statewide standard for foreclosure registries, but no action was taken this week. It was also a busy week for new legislation to be introduced ranging from expanded foreclosure sale notification requirements to prohibitions on certain mortgage default judgments. Read more about this week's activities and why we're concerned about several bills beginning to receive attention...

Last Call for Early Birds!

Discount for GBA Schools Ends Jan. 31

Sign up today to take advantage of GBA's Early Registration rate for first-year students for both the Georgia Banking School and the Southern Operations and Technology School in Athens. The special ends Tuesday! The dates for this year's session are April 29-May 4. The $1,525 early registration rate covers all materials, lodging and most meals. It's a great value for the students. For more information, please call GBA's Marybeth Jones at 404.420.2032.

Mortgage News

President Obama Hints at Refi Plan; Wells Fargo Announces Atlanta Homebuyer Program

As expected, the economy was a major topic of President Obama’s State of the Union address this week. Of primary note was his intent to introduce legislation to allow a simplified process for homeowners who are current on payments but underwater on their values to refinance at record-low mortgage rates. To pay for the program and backstop losses, the plan would include a “small fee” on financial firms with more than $50 billion in assets. In other mortgage news, Wells Fargo this week announced a program to invest $8 million for down payment and renovation grants to borrowers buying foreclosed homes throughout the city of Atlanta. It also declared a mortgage-lending goal of $1.3 billion in the city over the next five years. Read more mortgage news highlights here...

Consumer Cop Considering Two-tiered Regulation

There are good reasons to consider tiered levels of consumer regulation based on bank asset size or other factors. That seems to be the message coming from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) lately. CFPB Director Richard Cordray testified this week to a Congressional subcommittee that the bureau may consider setting a minimum asset size to exclude community banks from new rules, and he added that the agency also will analyze how its rules would affect banks with fewer than $10 billion in assets. Read more highlights from Cordray's testimony...

Six Derivatives Bills Pass U.S. House Committee

We’ve been following progress on several derivatives bills that would help clarify and limit the effects of Dodd-Frank Act provisions on a number of Georgia banks, especially those that work with commercial customers on selling interest rate swaps to help them plan. The U.S. House Agriculture committee this week approved six derivatives-related bills. Learn more about those six bills here. We’ll keep tracking these and keep you posted as they progress...

Fed Rates to Remain Steady through 2014

The Federal Reserve Wednesday said it expects to keep the target for the federal funds rate between zero and 0.25 percent through late 2014. In conjunction with its Federal Open Market Committee meeting and proclamation of economic activity this week, the Fed incorporated new charts into its information release indicating committee members' projections for the appropriate target federal funds rate. A majority of the 17 members indicated that the initial increase in the Fed Funds rate from its current level will be in either 2014 or 2015. See the charts and read more about the Fed Funds Rate here...

SBA 504 Refinance Program Ends in September

Revisions to the SBA 504 Refinancing Program last year may provide lenders with an opportunity to adjust their owner-occupied commercial real estate portfolios and reduce overall commercial real estate portfolio concentrations. It can also be an additional tool for lenders to offer their small business clients. The program ends Sept. 27, so now's the time to be thinking about how it can help your bank and your customers. Click here for more information and a link to an article about the program from GBA Associate Member, CSRA Business Lending...

How to Make Georgia More Competitive

Gov. Nathan Deal this week released recommendations from the Georgia Competitiveness Initiative. Improvements to education and workforce development headed the areas that Georgians identified as most important. The initiative examined six key factors identified by site selectors as the most important influencers in corporate location and expansion decisions. See what those six factors are and view the final report identifying opportunities, strategies and action steps in each category...

Two Good Piggybank Promos Coming Soon

If you're looking for a good public service and community outreach program supporting banking, we've got a couple of ideas for you. America Saves Week is Feb. 19-26. The FDIC encourages banks to participate and is hosting a free webinar to share ideas. To register, follow this link. Also, the GBA-supported Teach Children to Save Day is April 24. And, don't forget to let us know about your activity by filling out Financial Literacy Program Report Cards provided by Leadership GBA to track of all the good work you do to support your community each year. Read more about each campaign here...

Hamilton State Bank Acquires The First State Bank, Stockbridge

We regretted to learn last Friday that our member, The First State Bank in Stockbridge, was closed by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance. The FDIC subsequently announced that another of our members, Hamilton State Bank, Hoschton, had acquired the institution under a loss-share arrangement with the agency.

2011 GBA Bank PAC Closeout

Our thanks again to all of the bankers across Georgia who contributed to the 2011 GBA BankPAC campaign enabling GBA to represent your interests during this important election season. For more information, please contact Elizabeth Chandler at 404.420.2027. See who helped us finish up a strong campaign with their recent contributions...

Key GBA Event Reminders

Join the IT Exam Best Practice Panel Discussion at GBA's Operations and Technology Conference

As a highlight of the two-day conference, this session will present trends from recent examinations and cover methods for staying ahead of the exam curve. Click here to register...

HMDA and CRA Workshop Feb. 2

One-day seminar designed for compliance officers, loan officers and other bank personnel responsible for HMDA data collection and reporting. Click here to register...

Appraisal and Evaluation Seminar Feb. 8

A panel of experts will guide you through appraisal independence requirements and offer practical compliance strategies for appraisals. Click here to register...

How to Ensure Top-Notch Internal Audits Feb. 16

Basic concepts related to community bank internal controls and internal audit techniques. Click here to register...

Newsmakers

Read about all the Georgia bankers making news this week...

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 David Oliver and Bogan Brannen.