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April 1, 2005
Legislature Adjourns
The
Georgia General Assembly adjourned for the year last night after
spending 39
legislative days going
about the peoples’ business. We have been reporting weekly on the key issues of
importance to our members and we are delighted with the outcome. With next
week’s Bulletin, we will include a wrap up of all the major issues we followed
and recognize several legislators who were of significant importance to the
successful session. In yesterday’s action, final approval was given to
S.B. 13 by Sen.
Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) which requires the disclosure of expiration
date and fees on a gift card. An intense effort to kill the bill was led by
Rep.
Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur) and a number of procedural votes
were necessary before the bill finally passed. Our thanks to Rep.
Tom Graves (R-Fairmount) for the outstanding job he did in handling the
bill on the floor. Final approval was also given to
S.B. 230 by Sen.
Bill Hamrick (R-Carrollton) which requires data brokers to notify
consumers whose personal identifying information may have been compromised. The
notification bill was reworked in a conference committee to address some last
minute corrections that were necessary to perfect the bill. Our position to
limit the bill to data brokers prevailed, so our members will only be subject to
the new rules recently released by the federal bank regulators. Click
here for a complete list of all the bills GBA monitored this session.
Please call GBA’s
Elizabeth Chandler at (404) 420-2027 with questions.
Regulators Issue Statement on Money Service Businesses
In a recent
Bulletin, we reported on Treasury Secretary Snow’s comment to a
meeting of bankers where he said help was on the way for interpretations of the
Bank Secrecy Act as it applies to money services businesses. This week, the
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the federal banking
regulators issued a joint policy
statement on the subject. The regulators said it is important for money
services businesses, such as check cashers and money transmitters, to remain
within the formal financial sector, but that they do not expect banks to serve
as de facto regulators of the money services business industry. The regulators
plan to issue further guidance on the issue soon. This initial release is
certainly a step in the right direction, and we look forward to the guidance
being published. GBA has expressed our concern about the interpretation of this
Act to the regulators and it is important for our members to carefully review
the guidance when it is published. The severity of the penalties under the Act
makes this an especially troublesome issue for our members. We have heard from
many members who tell us how their relationships with money services businesses
have been disrupted by the current interpretations.
HMDA Data Now Available to the Public
Yesterday was the day banks were required to make HMDA data available to the
public upon request. To help answer questions the new data may raise, the
federal bank, credit union and thrift agencies, along with HUD, released
information answering Frequently Asked Questions. The regulators said their
newest release was to both help explain the information contained in the data as
well as to understand the limitations found in the data. Their press release
on the FAQ appears below; the link to the actual FAQ is included in it. Click
here for a copy of the release from the FDIC.
Elaine Demarest to Lead Convention Breakout Session
Well-known bank
consultant, Elaine Demarest of Demarest Consulting Group will lead a
breakout session at GBA’s
annual convention entitled
The Key Challenges That Belong in
Your 2006 Strategic Plan.
We hope
you will join your banking colleagues from around Georgia and participate as
Elaine leads a fast-paced session on several of the toughest
challenges facing community banks today in planning for 2006 and beyond. She
will share observations on current trends, and “best practices” ideas from her
planning work with banks from de novo to $1+ billion in size. The toughest
challenges bankers face today she will discuss are
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Making disciplined decisions on growth strategies
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Building the deposit side of the balance sheet
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Finding and keeping talented relationship bankers
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Keeping the infrastructure framework "just right" as we grow
Early registrations
are exceeding expectations, so if you are still thinking about attending the
annual convention
June 19-22 at the fabulous
Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch, Colorado, please let us know as soon as
possible. We are getting close to a sell-out at the hotel and we want to
do everything we can to accommodate the large crowd we will be having.
Please call GBA's
Susie McGehee
at (404) 420-2010 with questions.
Train the Trainer Conference Slated
If one of the hats
you wear at your bank is employee training, then GBA’s
Training & Development Conference is designed just for you. This
years conference is scheduled for April 21 at
Callaway
Resort in Pine Mountain and will give you the latest and
greatest resources available for community bank trainers. Helen
Johnson of
Columbus Bank and Trust will present "How Do I Get There From
Here?" and look at career development strategies for the 21st century
in banking and beyond. Michael
Muetzel, highly acclaimed author of "They’re Not Aloof…
Just Generation X," will enlighten you on how to harness the talent and energy
of younger workers and share insights on how to address generational
differences. Alison Moreau will present information about
ABA’s Performance Training Series and
eLearning courses as well as give two mini-presentations of
actual courses to demonstrate how easy they are to use. Our thanks to Committee
Chair Nancy Wood of
Security Bank in Albany and the
Training & Development Committee for putting together such an
informative conference. Register
online or call GBA's
Edie Canales at (404) 420-2034 with questions.
Deadline Today for
Online Seminars
Today is the
deadline to register for eight
AIB Online courses which begin April 11:
We continue to see growth in our online offerings and trust these are a cost-effective and convenient way for our members to further their banking education. Call GBA’s Edie Canales at (404) 420-2034 with questions.