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Community Bank Competitiveness Survey
The American
Bankers Association’s Community Bankers Council and ABA
Banking Journal have produced the Community
Bank Competitiveness Survey for the last six years. This national
benchmark survey has come to be considered a critical planning tool by
many community bankers. However,
putting this project together requires an essential ingredient—banker
input. If your bank has not
already taken part in this year’s survey, please do so as soon as
possible. A fresh mailing of survey questionnaires has gone out to
those banks that have not answered the survey to date. The survey questionnaire should take roughly one hour to
complete and the deadline is Nov. 20.
The more community bankers who take part, the more representative
the results of the survey, and, the more useful it will be to all
community bankers.
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Bankers throughout Georgia will be setting the example when they go to the polls November 5 and many observers believe a high voter turnout can be expected. “We have emphasized the importance of bankers getting involved in grassroots initiatives
and in contributing to the
GBA’s political action committees all year,” said GBA Chairman Larry
Kuglar, President of First
National Bank of Polk County. “The
elections on Tuesday are among the most important in a long time and every
vote counts. I can’t remember
a time when so many contested races were this close and Georgia’s future
leadership will be decided in this most important election.
Our message is simple to our members, employees, stockholders and
customers: Go Vote!” he
concluded. In addition to the
GBA state and federal PACs being actively involved in almost every contested
race, many GBA members participated in the Bank Day demonstration projects
for the new electronic voting machines.
These demonstrations helped many Georgians get over their
apprehension of the new technology. A
number of Constitutional
Amendments will be on the ballot and several of our members are
particularly interested in Amendment #2.
This amendment would allow separate valuations for qualified
affordable residential developments. Under the OneGeorgia
economic development program, state low-income housing tax credits are
awarded to encourage construction of quality residential communities in the
less developed areas of Georgia. Many Georgia banks purchase these tax
credits and Amendment 2 simply creates the constitutional foundation to
assure that local tax assessors do not over value the property by including
the value of the tax credit in the assessment which in essence would
“tax” the tax credit. Click here
for more details about the amendment.
2002 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
FDIC Premiums?
The FDIC
announced last week that both the Bank Insurance Fund and Savings
Association Insurance Fund earned substantially more year-to-date as of
September 30 than the same period in 2001. BIF earned $944 million and
SAIF $651 million. FDIC did
not announce where these earnings would put the reserve ratio, which is
currently mandated to be 1.25% of insurance deposits. The FDIC will
determine whether to charge bank premiums for the coming year when it
meets during the week of November 11. The BIF reserve ratio stood at
1.256% at the end of June 2002. Whether it held over 1.25% in September,
justifying no premiums in 2003, depends on the growth of insured deposits
during the third quarter. The FDIC staff will compile an estimate of the
insured deposit data for the Board. As
the reserve ratio is close to the 1.25% level, many banks are budgeting
for a premium increase this next year.
Congress Calls Lame Duck Session
Congress will convene for a “Lame Duck” session November 12
and depending on the results of the
elections across the country, the session could prove
beneficial to our interests. Both
political parties are making final “all out” efforts to control the House
and Senate
as either could change hands to the other party.
The banking industry is especially watching two issues which could
be considered when Congress returns:
bankruptcy
reform and real
estate brokerage authority. The
current leadership expects to be able to pass bankruptcy reform since the
extraneous issues which had kept it from passing could no longer be as
significant politically. On
the real estate brokerage issue, expect the National Association of
Realtors to wage a heated fight to get their self-serving, anticompetitive
“bank-elimination” amendment passed by the Senate.
Congress must contend with almost a dozen appropriations bills
where most of their emphasis will focus.
Small Business Person of the Year
GBA is cooperating with the U.S.
Small Business Administration (SBA) to encourage our members to nominate
your best customers for its 2003 Small Business Week Awards.
The program covers 11 Small Business and Small Business Advocate
Awards where small business leaders will be recognized.
The deadline for nominations is December 6. Details on each award and its evaluation criteria are
available on the SBA
website or by calling Jim Hightower at (404) 331-0100, ext 215.
Calendar of Events
Schools
Conferences
Seminars
Events
American
Institute of Banking
Leadership GBA
Personal Economics Program
(PEP)
Internet
Training
Marketing Conference Targets Advertising
GBA’s Marketing
Conference will be held on November 14-15 at Brasstown
Valley in Young
Harris and will focus on creative ideas and strategies for your bank’s
advertising program. Well-known
advertising executive Frank Compton, chairman of Sawyer
Riley Compton in Atlanta, will keynote the conference with his
presentation entitled Unleash The Story of Your Brand. In addition to the conference program, there is also a
pre-conference workshop covering Advertising and Promotions Compliance
Issues on Thursday, November 14, from 10 a.m. to noon. You may call
Brasstown directly at (706) 379-9900 for reservations.
For more details and conference registration, contact GBA’s Norma
Guild at (404) 420-2031.
Executive
Management Academy
Designed for CEOs and executive-level managers, the Executive
Management Academy focuses on practical community bank management. Participants meet for one full working day six times over the
course of one year to discuss the following topics: Strategic Planning, Credit Risk Management,
Marketing/Relationship Management, Asset/ Liability Management, Compliance
Management and Human Resources Management.
Peer-to-peer discussions are an integral part of the program. Call GBA’s June
Somers at (404) 420-2012 with questions.
2003 Leadership
Institute
In order to help meet the leadership demands of the 21st
Century, Leadership GBA
has again partnered
with the J.
W. Fanning Institute for Leadership to host the 2003
Leadership Institute. The
program is approximately 35 hours in length and is conducted over a
three-month period that begins in March and concludes in June 2003. Enrollment is limited to 25 participants.
One of the most important aspects of the program is the Benchmarks
360-degree assessment tool. Participants
will leave the Institute with a thorough understanding of their own
leadership abilities and will have a plan in hand to help them develop and
strengthen their skills. For more
information, please see the information
form. For additional information about the program, please call GBA’s June
Somers at (404) 420-2012 or
Susie
McGehee at (404) 420-2010.
Bank
Security Management Seminar
GBA’s annual Bank
Security Management seminar is scheduled for December 4th
in Cartersville and December 5th in Macon. Topics to be covered
include an overview of the bank security function, check fraud and new
account fraud, camera systems, the branch manager’s security role,
emergency preparedness and preventing employee dishonesty. Participants will
receive an employee security training video, a training certificate, and a
comprehensive procedural guide. Please call GBA’s Marybeth
Jones at (404) 420-2032 for more information.
New
AIB Online Courses
The American Institute of
Banking has introduced three new online courses.
These courses are instructor-led, which means they have a specific
start and end date as well as a schedule for when exams and assignments are
due. This type of training
format has become very popular with Georgia bankers since its introduction
two years ago. The first new
class, “Managing
the Bank’s Investment Portfolio,” will provide participants the
key concepts needed to effectively manage the bank’s portfolio.
This six-week course is priced at $585. “Payment
Systems Today” will provide participants with a broad
understanding of the key payment systems, including: the functions in the
economy; customer service requirements and benefits; processes; security
concerns and protections; and regulations for operations and safety.
Designed for entry level and new bank managers, front line or back
office, this six-week course is $270. “The
Bank Card Business: Today and
Tomorrow” will examine the bankcard issuing business in all its
complexity and describe the strategies, tactics and management skills
required for success in terms understandable to both novices and experts
alike. This ten-week course is
$325. For further information,
please contact GBA’s Edie
Canales at (404) 420-2034.
Interactive
Internet Seminars
The Georgia Bankers Association and the Graduate
School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are
offering three more seminars this year.
Divided into three sessions, “Relationship
Selling: How To Call On Top
Retail and Consumer Banking Customers” is scheduled for November
19 from 9:30 –11:00 a.m.; November 20 from 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.; and
November 21 from 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. Seminar
presenter, Kent Stickler, will cover the basics of effective
selling with an emphasis on practical selling and closing skills. The next seminar, “A
Modern Course in Asset/ Liability Management for Community Bankers,”
is scheduled for December 2, 5, 9, 12, 16, 19 from 2:30 – 4:00 p.m.
Presenters Dave Koch and Tom Farin will present a
seven-step approach to interest rate risk and strategy development. The last
seminar for the year will be “Partnership
Selling: How To Make An Effective Sales Call,” which is also
divided into three sessions, is scheduled for December 6th from
10:00 – 11:30 a.m.; December 13 from noon – 1:30 p.m.; and December 17,
2:30 – 4:00 p.m. Presenter
Kent Stickler will provide participants with ideas on how to increase
outside calls and sales productivity. Please call GBA’s Edie
Canales at (404) 420-2034 for more information.
Banking
Expo 2003
GBA will once again be
hosting our one-of-a-kind bank exposition and trade show next March 25-26 at
the Cobb Galleria Centre. The
first step in the process of ensuring the Expo will meet your needs is to
attract the right exhibitors.
Exhibit
space is limited to only 100 booths, and we want to have the exhibitors
there you want to visit. We are
sending exhibitors brochures about the Expo
next week and we are asking our members to let us know of specific
exhibitors you want there. Please
call GBA’s Susie
McGehee at (404) 420-2010 and give her the name and
address of your recommended exhibitor and she’ll make sure they get
invited. Our thanks to the GBA Operations/Technology Committee for
their hard work in sponsoring this every-other-year event.
Retirement Services, Inc.
GBA Services, Inc.
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2003 Holiday Decals Arriving Soon! |
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Some of the Services Available
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Win a DVD Player with
The Computer Psychologist’s “Lucky 3!” Promotion
Selecting
new employees can be difficult. With the increased numbers of qualified candidates on the
market, it is even more challenging and important to select the candidate
who’s best suited to do the job. And,
the impact of your selection is significant.
Did you know:
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Top performing employees contribute 40-80% more to the success of an organization than an average employee
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A poor performing employee can cost an organization 1.5-5 times their salary through lower productivity, poor customer service, unrealized business, and their negative impact on other employees
GBA and The Computer Psychologist have teamed up to provide member banks with online pre-employment assessments at a significantly discounted rate. If you are not already familiar with The Computer Psychologist services, we invite you to visit The Computer Psychologist/GBA Help Center. Target personality profiles have been created for the positions of Commercial Lender, Consumer Lender, Customer Service Representative, Loan Processor, Network Administrator, and Teller. These target profiles were created by assessing known, current top performers in these positions at GBA member banks.
During the “Lucky 3!” promotion, for every 3 candidates you assess, you’ll get 1 chance to win a DVD player. (The Computer Psychologist recommends that the final 3 candidates for a position be given an online assessment.) Each time you use the assessments to help identify which candidates are best suited for the position, you’ll get the added bonus of increasing your chances to win the DVD. The winner will be announced on December 20, 2002, just in time for Christmas!
Contact Computer Psychologist’s John Naphin at (770) 455-4510, or GBA’s Renee Valdez at (404) 420-2036 for questions.
Augusta,
Georgia-Carolina Bancshares
Congratulations to Pat Blanchard for his recent election as
Chairman of the Board of the Delta Sigma Pi Leadership Foundation.
Blairsville, United
Community Banks
Catherine Hamby has been promoted to Vice President.
Neal R. Bradley has been elected to the Board.
GBA's e-Bulletin List
Our
e-Bulletin subscriber list continues to grow with each edition. Bankers
from any member bank can be added to the email-distributed version of the Bulletin. A
bonus of getting the e-Bulletin is the number of links we include, which
puts even more information at your fingerprints. This
is a great way to keep your key employees informed of significant industry
information, trends and events. To add
yourself or others in your bank to the list, send an email
containing the name and email address of each individual to GBA’s
Lydia
Thomas.
