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Our Take on Fed's Interchange
Price-Cap Rule
 The
Fed adopted its anticipated final debit-card interchange price
cap rule, setting a 21-cent cap for debit-card transactions.
This is nine cents higher than the proposed rule, but still a
reduction of more than half the current average interchange rate
of 44 cents per transaction. The Fed issued the improved rule
after considering more than 11,000 comments, many of which were
from bankers, the GBA and fellow trade groups and even consumer
groups who opposed the original 12-cent cap. Your comments
clearly made a difference in shaping the Fed's improved final
rule.
Read more analysis about the Fed's final
interchange price-cap rule...
 GBA
Joins Others in Letter to SEC About its Municipal Advisor Registration Proposal
We have been actively following and reporting
about an SEC proposal that would require most bankers to
register as municipal advisors just for something as simple as
having an account relationship with a local government entity.
We think that's a bad idea, and signed onto a letter
this week to the SEC with other state banking groups and the ABA
pressing our point.
Link to the letter
to the SEC and learn more about proposed municipal advisor
registration...
OCC Preemption Proposal Draws
Support & Fire
You may recall that were it not for an OCC preemption of the
Georgia Fair Lending Act (GLFA) and the subsequent application of that
preemption by the Georgia Attorney General to state chartered
banks, all our members, regardless of charter type, could still
be strangled by that misguided state law. The Dodd-Frank Act (DFA) had
language essentially taking away the OCC's
ability to issue that kind of preemption ruling, but DFA preserved some other long-standing preemption
opportunities. The OCC recently issued for comment their
proposed regulations
adopting the new standard to mixed reactions.
Learn more about
the responses to the OCC's preemption proposal...
GA Department of Banking and
Finance Proposed Rulemaking Could Affect Your Bank
As a result of legislative changes this year, the
Georgia Department of Banking and Finance (DBF) has issued
proposed rulemaking with comments due by July 28.
The proposal deals primarily with non-bank entities that the DBF
regulates, but there is a change in the reporting method of the
Georgia Residential Mortgage Act requiring the per loan fee
report to be made online
going forward.
Find out more about the DBF's proposed rulemaking
that could affect your bank if it's writing mortgage loans...
Dept. of Revenue Proposes
Unclaimed Property Changes – Any Worries Here?
 This
week The GA Dept. of Revenue (DOR) published
proposed changes to
unclaimed property rules and regulations that affect unclaimed
property from abandoned safe-deposit boxes. If our initial
reading is correct, the rule would transfer responsibility from
DOR to the banks to deliver "any illegal substances, contraband,
and/or hazardous materials...[in] an abandoned safe-deposit box"
to the appropriate authorities. There is little formal training
for bankers in these matters. Learn more about the concerns we
have with bankers having to transport hazardous or illegal
materials from abandoned safe-deposit boxes...
GBA Comments on Risk Retention
Proposal
As we reported last week, Sen. Johnny Isakson and
other members of Congress had called on federal regulators to
revise their proposed 20-percent down payment requirement for
Qualified Residential Mortgages (QRMs). GBA commented similarly in a letter
this week, adding that we are also concerned with the proposed
debt-to-income ratios and credit standards.
See the letter we
sent to regulators about the required down payment proposal for QRMs...
New Foreclosure Guidance
Issued by OCC
OCC issued guidance Thursday that outlines broad expectations
for appropriate foreclosure management standards by executives
and boards of national
banks.
All national banks should conduct a self-assessment of their
foreclosure management practices by Sept. 30 and correct any
weaknesses.
Read more about the areas covered in the new OCC foreclosure guidance for
national banks...
 High Marks Again For Georgia
as a Best State for Business
Georgia ranks as the fourth-best state for business in a study
out this week by CNBC. The ranking is up six spots from a year
ago, and it marks a return to the top five for the first time in
four years. The state's infrastructure was ranked second, and
quality of the state's workforce and relatively low cost of
living also received top-10 rankings.
Check out CNBC's study...
Mortgage News:
More Mortgages Paid on Time
and CFPB Seeks Second Round of
Feedback on Mortgage Disclosures
 Homeowners did
a better job keeping their mortgage payments current in the
first quarter of this year.
Also,
check
out the revised and reintroduced prototypes of a single
mortgage disclosure form that would merge TILA and RESPA
disclosures from CFPB.
Read more mortgage news and view and
comment on the draft mortgage disclosures...
Reduced Room Rates Still
Available...
Our Economic Update will be a Can't Miss
Session at
the Leadership GBA Conference
Joe Keating, Chief Investment Officer with
CenterState Bank, Birmingham, AL, is going to help answer
questions about monetary policy and how the Obama
Administration's shift to a more centrist position may affect earnings
and much more.
Deep
discounts
on hotel rooms are still available for the
event, so sign up for the Leadership GBA Conference today...
Two Officers Re-Elected and a
New Director Installed to GBA Insurance Trust Board
 At the GBA Annual Convention in Atlanta last week, participants of
the Georgia Bankers Association Insurance Trust (GBAIT)
re-elected two officers and installed a new member to the GBAIT board
of directors to serve three-year terms. The Georgia bankers
re-elected for three-year terms are Ray Chitty, President,
Guardian Bank, Valdosta and Glenn Willis, President and COO,
South Georgia Banking Company, Tifton. Ron Thigpen, Executive
Vice President and COO, Georgia Bank and Trust, Augusta
was elected for a first term.
More than
40 Compliance Professionals Meet in Macon
 Exam trends,
fair lending rules, HMDA and the Bank Secrecy Act were topics
covered at the GBA Compliance Peer Group meeting in Macon
on Tuesday. More than 40 Georgia compliance professionals attended.
The GBA
Compliance Committee
also met to begin planning for the annual Compliance Conference,
which will be Oct. 4-5 at Idle Hour Country Club in Macon.
Learn
more about the meeting and get involved in the GBA Compliance
Peer Group...
Newsmakers
Read about all the Georgia bankers making news this week...
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| Darcy |
Nally-Viola |
Spurlock |
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. |
