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Burnsed Installed GBA Chairman
E. James Burnsed, Chairman and CEO of Bryan Bank & Trust in Richmond Hill was installed as GBA’s 111th Chairman at the association’s annual meeting this week in Napa, California.  In remarks accepting the chairman’s position, Jimmy said, “As I look back on what has been an exciting time for me in banking, I can’t help but realize that any success I may have had is largely due to my involvement with the GBA, the help of the Good Lord and my very supportive and understanding wife Becky...and not necessarily in that order. The GBA has helped me through the years with education and training as well as a better understanding of the regulatory and legislative environment.  This year is my opportunity to give back something to the association and the industry for all they have done for me.”

Jimmy has a long record of service to the industry and the association.  He has been active at the Group level, taught AIB classes, chaired the Human Resources and Public Affairs Committees and served as Secretary/Treasurer.  Jimmy is also active in his civic club and is a former mayor of Garden City.

Board Members Take Office
The 2001-2002 Board of Directors was officially installed at the annual meeting.  In addition to Chairman Jimmy Burnsed and Past Chairman Jud Vann, the officers will be:  Chairman-elect, Larry T. Kuglar, First National Bank of Polk County, Cedartown; Vice Chairman, Edward C. Milligan, Main Street Banks, Inc., Kennesaw; Secretary-Treasurer, Robert G. Carmichael, Commercial Bank & Trust, LaGrange; and President, Joe Brannen, Atlanta.  Click here for a list of the Group-level representatives as well as the four At-Large members of the board.  “This is an outstanding board and is representative of our entire membership. I look forward to their leadership,” said GBA Chairman Jimmy Burnsed.

2001 State Legislative Issues
Governor Roy Barnes
Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor
Georgia House of Representatives
Georgia State Senate
Federal Legislative Issues
U.S. Congress
Legislative Updates
Legal Issues

Credit Unions Expand
Two middle Georgia credit unions have been granted changes to their charters which will allow them to serve anyone who lives in their area rather than requiring the customers to have a business common bond.  The Macon Telegraph published an article discussing the switch and quoted GBA President Joe Brannen discussing the unfair tax and regulatory treatment given credit unions.  In a related development, the American Bankers Association filed a comment letter with the National Credit Union Administration asking that an interim rule be tightened to require any future conversions to community credit unions be restricted to a limited geographic area.  The current proposal would allow unlimited growth.

Preventing Identity Theft
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) requires financial institutions to have policies and procedures in place to protect customer information from identity thieves.  The Fed, OCC and FDIC have issued supplemental guidelines to joint interagency guidance that was made public in January. The guidance is meant to protect consumers’ identities from identity theft and pretext callers and takes effect on July 1st.  

One common way thieves obtain confidential information, such as account numbers, dates of birth, or social security numbers, is by calling a financial institution posing as a customer or as the customer’s authorized representative.  Several federal laws, including GLBA, prohibit this “pretext calling.”  Therefore banks should have procedures in place to verify that customers are who they say they are.  These might include calling the customer back to confirm a conversation or using independent sources to confirm information submitted by the customer.  Institutions should confirm all requests for address changes, new credit cards, or new accounts, with the customer directly.  Banks may also want to implement policies that simply limit the information available to customers over the telephone, unless the customer supplies a confidential authorization code.

Banks that believe or know they have been the target of these pretext calls must report them to law enforcement agencies and their regulators.  The Fed asks banks to write in “identity theft” or “pretext calling” on their Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), as appropriate, and to describe the grounds for suspecting identity theft or pretext calling.  Finally, banks should warn their customers about the prevalence of identity theft and provide information to help customers protect themselves.  A good source of consumer education materials is The Federal Trade Commission’s website.  

The GBA is participating in Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker’s ID Theft Network, a group representing lenders, law enforcement and public interest groups whose combined efforts are committed to help stop Identity Theft.  We will be sharing more information about the Network in future Bulletins.

Calendar of Events
Schools
Conferences
Seminars
Events
Georgia AIB
Leadership GBA
Personal Economics Program (PEP)
Internet Training

Leadership Conference
GBA’s Leadership Development Section has announced plans for their 41st Annual Conference July 22-25 at Amelia Island Plantation.  The conference is designed for career bankers in your institution and we hope every bank will be represented.  Leadership GBA’s goals are to promote leadership development, encourage public awareness of the banking industry, create networking opportunities and educate colleagues about banking and the legislative process.  Darron Burnette, EVP of Eagle Bank & Trust in Statesboro, said, “I am excited about the conference as it is a great opportunity to get involved on a statewide basis. There is no better way to meet and share ideas with your fellow bankers.”  Registration materials have been mailed.  Please call GBA’s Susie McGehee at (404) 420-2010 for more information.

UCC Revised Article 9 Effective July 1.  Be Prepared!
GBA has scheduled two more seminars to bring your bank up to speed on the new Article 9 revision.  Gary Moser, Moser & Terry, Valdosta is the presenter.  Gary has prepared a manual covering the practical applications of the changes that you can take back to your bank as a reference.  The seminars will take place June 13 in Cordele and June 14 in Gainesville.  Please refer to the enclosed registration form for more information or call GBA’s Marybeth Jones at (404) 420-2032 to register by phone. 

Workers’ Compensation Program
GBA Services, Inc. and Affinity Service Group are able to provide cost effective, highly rated Workers’ Compensation Insurance to our members. Underwritten through Legion Insurance Company (Best Rated Excellent: A IX) this program offers a combination of competitive pricing, superior claims management, and access to certified managed care for injured employees. This plan is designed to be easy-to-use, making the purchase of Workers Compensation highly customized to GBA Member Banks and extremely user-friendly.

The program is sold exclusively through GBA Services, Inc., a subsidiary of the Georgia Bankers Association. Together with Affinity Service Group, a secure website is currently being developed which will allow member institutions to receive on-line quotes and information regarding their Workers’ Compensation Coverage.

Some of the services provided by the Affinity and GBA Workers’ Comp Program are:

• Access to Financially Stable Insurers

• Total Insurance Program Design and Administration

• Safety Consulting

• Premium Accounting

• Regulatory Compliance

• Program Marketing and Distribution through Multiple Sources

• Reinsurance Brokerage

• Direct Agency Sales and Service

• Claim Consulting

• Future Website devoted to Integrated Workers Compensation Information

• Local Claims Processing here in Atlanta

To learn more about this program or to receive more information on obtaining a quote, please contact GBA’s Renee Valdez at (404) 420-2036.

Albany, First National Bank of South Georgia
Don Monk has joined the bank as President & CEO.

Marietta, Charter Bank & Trust
Congratulations to the bank for being awarded Preferred Lender’s Status (PLS) by the SBA.

Marietta, Riverside Bank
Martin Isenberg and Merrill Wynne have joined the bank’s board of Directors.

Moultrie, ABC Bancorp, Inc.
Jack Hunnicutt has been named Chairman and CEO and Mark Thomas President and COO.

Oakwood, Southern Heritage Bank
Ricky Stowe has joined the bank as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

GBA’s e-Bulletin List
Almost 500 bankers are on GBA’s email distribution list to receive the e-Bulletin as well as the e-versions of our Legislative Update and warnings about bank scams.  We don’t share or sell our email list and don’t send frivolous information to our recipients.  We’ll continue sending the paper version, and we don’t limit the number of bankers from any one bank on the list.  Email GBA’s Lydia Thomas to be added.

For more information, send an e-mail to the Webmaster.