Thank you, Convention Sponsors!
Many thanks to
the members and associate members who helped make the 2010
Annual Meeting a
great success. Please see the enclosed
flier recognizing the firms that so generously sponsored the
various events. When you see them, please make a special effort
to thank them for their support.
50-Year
Bankers Recognized for Service
Each year at the GBA Annual Meeting, we honor bankers who have
dedicated 50 years of service to our industry. This year, we
salute four bankers for their longstanding commitment to
banking, their customers and their shareholders.
Meet the 50-year bankers...
Help Us
Prevent Fraud, Increase FinCrime Participation
Last
week we got word about a serious increase in counterfeit
check fraud going around the state. There's a great free
service through GBA you can sign up for to share such
information as well as to get instant updates when others
put out alerts. A while back, the GBA joined forces with a
network of state banking associations offering FinCrime to
members and local law enforcement.
More about FinCrime...
Make
Information Security Your Bank's Top Priority
Gladiator Technology
is a Managed Security Service Provider located in Atlanta,
Georgia, Gladiator is a leading provider of Network and
Information Security Solutions that works with more than 650
financial institutions nationwide.
More about bank information security...
Attract and
Retain Customers with the Deluxe Experience
Deluxe Financial Services
is more than just a check printer. Deluxe offers programs
that can add to your bank's profitability and maximize
customer satisfaction.
More about the Deluxe experience...
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
Find a job, post
a job |
Regulatory Reform Conference Committee Inches Toward Completion
  As
we reported last week, we have closely followed the work
of the House and Senate
Conference Committee and its work to combine the two versions of
financial regulatory reform legislation. The two conference chairmen,
Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) were still
predicting wrapping up the bill this week as we went to press with this
edition. They both said they wanted a final package to be presented to
each chamber for approval and sent to the President by July 4th.
See where everything stands with regulatory reform...
What's Got Bankers Mostly Unhappy With
This Bill
GBA has been unable
to support the bill almost from the day it was introduced. We have
always been supportive of financial reform to end concepts like
too-big-to-fail and bring the unregulated entities that created so much
of the problems in the downturn under bank-like supervision. This
legislation does make a stab at that and has some other positive
provisions such as maintain independence of the Fed and federal reserve
bank director qualifications; preservation of the thrift charter;
improved lending limits for the Federal Home Loan Banks; and some
oversight of the accounting standards of FASB.
But bankers statewide tell us the negatives still outweigh the
positives.
More about why bankers
are mostly unhappy with the reg reform bill...
GBA Elects Officers, Installs
Board at Annual Meeting
As we reported briefly last week, part of
the business of the 2010 GBA Annual Meeting was to elect
officers and install new board members. Here's a recap: The
2010-2011 GBA Chairman is Chuck Williams, President and
CEO, North Georgia Bank, Watkinsville; Chairman-Elect is
Richard A. Whaley,
President and CEO, The Citizens Bank of Americus; the
Vice Chairman is James J. Edwards, Jr., Chief Executive
Officer, United Bank, Griffin; and Secretary/Treasurer is
R. Ray Chitty, President, Guardian Bank, Valdosta.
See the new board members...
Williams Outlines Focus for
GBA in 2010-2011
 Citing the need
for strong industry unity and active member participation, new
GBA Chairman Chuck Williams made remarks at the 2010 GBA
Annual Meeting outlining his priorities for the association in
the coming year. Chuck emphasized the need for members and the
association to spend the year focused on the theme of
"Rejuvenation, Reinvention and Renewal." The association's
strategic priorities will remain the same -- lobbying, public
advocacy, revenue enhancing products and services, and banker
education and development.
More of the Chairman's remarks...
Georgia Banker Shares Small Business View with Senate
Subcommittee
Mark Wills
of Georgia Bank and Trust in Augusta earlier this month
participated in a roundtable discussion before the U.S. Senate
Subcommittee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. The
roundtable topic was "The State of Small Business Lending:
Identifying Obstacles and Exploring Solutions." The forum
provided Mark and others the opportunity to weigh in on ways to
provide more credit for small businesses and to comment on the
proposed $30 billion Small Business Loan Fund, which the House
approved last week and is now up for consideration in the
Senate.
More about the Senate Subcommittee roundtable discussion...
Compensation Guidance
Finalized by Regulators
New
guidance out this week details regulators' intent to ensure bank
incentive compensation policies are geared toward long-term
performance and do not create undue safety and soundness risks.
The final guidance will apply to the entire banking industry and
is similar to an October proposal by the Federal Reserve. Of
note is relatively positive language that GBA and other industry
groups encouraged emphasizing there's no one-size-fits-all
compensation program and monitoring and compliance programs
should be "commensurate" with a bank's size and complexity.
More about Federal Regulator's final guidance...
TAG Program Extended by FDIC, Two-Year Extension in the Works
 The
key program to provide unlimited deposit insurance on
noninterest-bearing accounts was officially extended through
Dec. 31, 2010, by the FDIC this week. Under the Temporary
Account Guarantee (TAG)
program, customers of
participating insured depository institutions are provided full
coverage on transaction accounts. The
final rule reduces from 0.50 percent to 0.25 percent the
interest rates on qualifying NOW accounts offered by banks
participating in the program.
More about the TAG program extension....
FDIC
Maintains Current Assessment Rates
 "I
think we should just hold the course for now," said FDIC
Chairman Sheila Bair in a comment about the FDIC Board's
approval this week to maintain deposit insurance assessment
rates at present levels.
The approved
Deposit Insurance Fund
restoration plan maintains assessment rates at current
levels through the end of 2010 and applies a uniform 3
basis-point increase in assessment rates effective Jan 1, 2011.
More about the FDIC's assessment rates...
USDA Rural Development Loan
Guarantee Fund Exhausted; Stay Tuned, Though
We
understand national funding for USDA regular purchase guarantees
on rural development housing loans has been exhausted for the
year. Additional funds are contingent on the president signing
new legislation authorizing more funds, which is still being
considered.
Read what the Georgia USDA office is doing...
SBA
Now Offering Access to Microloan Program in Every Georgia County
 The
Small Business Administration's Microloan program is now
available for all 159 counties in Georgia. Georgia's small
businesses can still apply for a micro loan at certified lenders
in the state. These loans are available from $500 to $35,000.
And rates vary upon credit and market risk.
How to use the
Microloan funds...
2010 BankPAC Campaign
Update
The 2010 BankPAC Campaign is off to a
great start. See this week's update...
Operation Stolen Dreams Leads
to Arrests of 485 Mortgage Fraudsters
Federal
officials last week announced the arrest of 485 people in what
is being called the largest crackdown on mortgage fraud in the
U.S. The three-month take-down, dubbed Operation Stolen
Dreams, targeted mortgage fraudsters nationwide, including
Georgia. It involved 1,215 defendants allegedly responsible for
more than $2.3 billion in losses. "This nationwide effort
reflects what we've been seeing in our district: mortgage fraud
moving as fast as the housing market here in Georgia," said U.S.
Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Sally Quillian
Yates. "We hope to have the kind of impact on the crooks as
they have had on our citizens and our neighborhoods." In
addition to criminal enforcement, the operation included 191
civil enforcement actions resulting in the recovery of more than
$147 million.
Read more here...
Congratulations Graduates
of SE School of Commercial Lending
Three GBA member bankers have completed requirements for
graduation from the 2010 session of the Southeastern School
of Commercial LendingSM (TSSCL), which was held
recently at the Owen Graduate School of Management on the Vanderbilt
University campus in Nashville.
See the list of graduates...
The New GBA
HR Community is Now Online!
The
GBA is pleased to announce a new resource for you. We have set
up a specialized GBA Human Resources Community online where HR
pros can share resources, ask questions of their peers and
exchange ideas. Think of it as a Facebook-style community
specifically for those working in Human Resources. The HR
Community continues the list of topic-specific online
Communities we are rolling out. The content in this secure,
password-protected environment is by bankers, for bankers, so
your Community is determined by what you contribute.
Features of the HR Community...
Newsmakers:
More news about Georgia bankers...
Francis |
Young |
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. |
HEADLINE EVENTS
Leadership Conference
Supercharge Your Career
July 11-14
Regulatory Reform and Emerging Issues
July 13 & 14
Schedule
Change
IRA Basics & IRA Update
Sept. 28 & 29
AIB Online Instructor Led Courses
AIB Online IRA Training
Introduction to IRAs
Compliance Calendar
Lending Calendar
Ops/Tech Calendar
HR Calendar
Asset/Liability Calendar
Management Calendar
Security Calendar
Webinars
Full GBA-U Calendar |
