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Legislative Reception Reminder
Plans are being
finalized for GBA’s annual
Legislative
Reception.
This event is slated for Wednesday, January 14, 2004, from 6:00 p.m. –
7:30 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency, Atlanta. Thanks to the many bankers and
associate members who have already pre-registered. Invitations have been
sent to legislators and special guests and responses are pouring in daily.
We anticipate a great crowd. It is very important to our industry that a
large number of bankers attend. Show your support for the banking industry
and for your Association by registering a sizable group of representatives
from your bank. Call GBA’s
Susie McGehee
at (404) 420-2010 for questions about the reception or hotel reservations.
Make plans now to attend one of the most important events of the year!
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Happy Holidays from the GBA Staff
We all send our
best wishes to our members for a joyous holiday season. Thank you for all
you do in support of your Association!
2003 State Legislative
Issues
Governor Sonny Perdue
Lt. Gov. Mark
Taylor
Georgia House of
Representatives
Georgia State Senate
Federal Legislative
Issues
U.S.
Congress
Legislative Updates
Legal Issues
State Issues Developing
The GBA
Board of Directors,
Public Affairs Committee and
BankPAC Board meet in early January to
review issues we expect to be before the
General Assembly
in 2004. We anticipate having to deal with predatory lending, payday
lending, Federal Home Loan Bank Letters of Credit and a new proposal being
floated for the DOT to create a bank to fund transportation projects.
GBA Staff Supports
BankPAC
The GBA staff
has made personal contributions totaling $750 to the GBA FedPAC showing
their individual support for the industry. The 2003 campaign is winding
down at the end of the month and there is still time to reach our goals.
BankPAC Chairman, George Butler, President of the
First National
Bank of Barnesville said, “We appreciate the staff stepping up to
the table in support of our campaign. If they can do that, surely every
bank that returned their solicitation card should be represented. The
FedPAC is within $1,500 of its goal and we hope to get there before
year-end.” For more information, call GBA’s
Elizabeth
Chandler at (404) 420-2027.
Congress in Recess
The
U.S. Congress has
recessed for the year after passing the
permanent extension of the
Fair Credit Reporting Act. They will return in late January to
deal primarily with budget issues. Still on their agenda are several
banking issues such as bankruptcy reform, FDIC reform, business checking
accounts, revising the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Federal Home Loan Bank
regulatory structures, industrial loan companies, predatory lending and
OCC preemption.
Calendar of Events
Schools
Conferences
Seminars
Events
American
Institute of Banking
Leadership GBA
Personal Economics Program
(PEP)
Internet
Training
Executive Management Academy
The first of
six sessions for GBA’s newly revised
Executive Management
Academy will be held on January 26, 2004 in Macon. Elaine
Demarest of Demarest Strategy Group, Hilton Head, will lead the
bankers through a daylong exercise on strategic planning. Those attending
can expect to learn not only how to develop a plan but also how to keep it
on track. Elaine will give specific guidance on how to devise
opportunities as you assess your competition, formulating a vision for
your bank, budgeting techniques and ways to develop a sound working
relationship with your Board of Directors. The key strategic issues will
focus on growth and expansion, capital utilization, maximizing shareholder
value, building infrastructure, evolving the organization chart,
technology and delivery systems and products and services. The day will
be full of ideas any bank can put to immediate use. Class size is limited
to no more than 25, so if your bank wants to be represented, call GBA’s
Elizabeth Todd today at (404) 420-2031. The other five sessions
of the Academy will cover Credit Risk Management, Creating a Top-Down
Marketing Culture, Compliance Management, Asset/Liability Risk Management
and Human Resources Management. Bankers may attend all six sessions or
pick and choose among the sessions.
Introducing ABA’s Online Review Course for the CRCM Examination (Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager). This eight-week course begins February 9, 2004 and will use the ABA Reference Guide for Regulatory Compliance. Each week, the participant will read one section from the manual and complete quizzes to test for mastery of content. Instant feedback will help the participant decide topics on which to give more focus. There will be a discussion board for each week’s assignments so participants can ask questions from a qualified mentor as well as review and discuss other student’s questions and comments. The course will remain open until the April 16, 2004 CRCM exam. If an individual decides to sit for the exam, he or she may continue to practice with the quizzes and exams. This course is designed for Compliance Managers, Department Managers and Staff, Product Managers, and Retail/Branch Banking Managers, and ideally for those preparing for the Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager (CRCM) exam. At the end of the course, participants should be familiar with all of the federal laws and regulations in the following areas: deposits, lending, information reporting, bank operations, safety and soundness, social responsibility, and setting up a compliance program. This course is priced at $725. GBA will give away one free course to the first member banker to call GBA’s Edie Canales at (404) 420-2034. For additional information or to register for AIB’s online courses, please contact Edie Canales.
Retirement Services, Inc.
GBA Services, Inc.
Online Expo
For Sale
Available January 2004:
Temporary Drive-Thru approximately 10' x 14'. $5,000 or best offer. Please
direct questions to Dorsey Thompson, Vice President of Glennville
Bank, at (912) 654-3471.
GBA Retirement Services Update
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Some of the Services Available GBA Services, Inc. is governed by a board composed primarily of community bank presidents who look for the best products and services available. They do the due diligence for you and you can rely on their efforts. For more information on any of these services, please contact Renee Valdez at (404) 420-2036.
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Take Advantage of the Employee Assistance Plan
One of our
community bank members in middle Georgia was recently robbed in
mid-afternoon. The robbery was done at gunpoint and the bank employees
were understandably upset about the trauma. The bank’s human resources
director remembered the
Employee Assistance Program (EAP) GBA offers members who
participate in our Long-Term
Disability Program and called the EAP toll-free hotline around
8:15 that evening. A counselor met the employees at the bank the next
morning at 7:30 to help them cope with their feelings in the aftermath of
the robbery. While we hope none of our members ever have a similar
experience, we know the probability is there so please remember that you
have this service available. For more information, call GBA’s
Susan Kelley at (404) 420-2017.
2004 Holiday Decals Hot Off The Press!
The
2004 Holiday Decals have arrived and those who are on our standing
order list should have received their order within the last few weeks. The
window decals not only provide a professional appearance but also contain
the 10 holiday closings recognized by the
Federal Reserve Bank in accordance with
FDIC rules. If you are not currently on our standing order list
and would like to receive a set, please call quickly; we have sold out
over the last 3 years. To order, please call GBA’s
Renee Valdez at (404) 420-2036 or
Kenyetta Parks at (404) 420-2035.
Innovative Sales Toolkit Provider
SEDOA Systems, Inc. –
GBA’s newest Strategic Partner
The
Georgia Bankers Association approved the endorsement of SEDOA Systems,
Inc., a provider of innovative platform sales tools on March 26,
2003. SEDOA provides open standards sales tools that boost platform sales
productivity by as much as 30%. Glen Sloan, President of SEDOA
Systems, said, “Getting the endorsement of the GBA is a major milestone
for our company. At less than $25 per CSR per month, we think we have a
lot to offer banks of all sizes, even the smallest community banks, and
we’re delighted that the GBA Services Inc. Board agrees.”
The SEDOA System uses open standards technology to:
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Visually present bank services, right from the CSR’s work station
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Track CSR productivity and
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Provide automatic follow-up on cross sell opportunities
Designed for community banks with limited IT resources, the SEDOA System is easy to install and easy to use. It runs on equipment you probably already own. And, it’s cheap … less than $25 per CSR per month. For more information on SEDOA Systems, Inc. please contact SEDOA’s Glen Sloan at (770) 447-8767 ext. 33, or GBA’s Renee Valdez at (404) 420-2036.
Latest Bank to Link
Welcome to
Albany Bank & Trust, Bob Lee, CEO, as the latest bank to link
to GBA’s website. Call
Lydia Thomas at (404) 420-2039 when your bank is ready to link.
Atlanta, Midtown Bank & Trust Co.
Congratulations
to Alex Suarez, Chairman and CEO, and the other officers, directors
and staff on the bank’s recent opening.
Atlanta, Porter Keadle Moore,
LLP
Phil Moore,
Managing Partner, has been elected Chairman of the Accounting Advisory
Council for the School of Accountancy at Georgia Southern University.
Columbus, Synovus Financial Corp.
Don Howard,
Chairman and CEO of the
Bank of North
Georgia, Alpharetta, has been promoted to Regional Chief Executive
Officer for the Atlanta market.
Franklin, First Georgia Banking Co.
Congratulations
to Jackie Reed, President and CEO, and the officers, directors and
staff on their recent opening.
Hillsborough, NC,
Matthews, Young
Steven T.
Royal has
been named Director of the new Information Services Division.
Toccoa, Bank of
Toccoa
Our sympathies
to the family, friends and colleagues of Dr. William C. Clary, Jr.,
former Chairman and bank President, on his recent death. He also served
as GBA President in 1955-1956 and was the organizer of the
Georgia Banking School.
Woodstock, First National
Bank of Cherokee
The bank
announces its name change to First Cherokee State Bank as well as
the following additions: Michael Henderson as President of the Cobb
Division; Bob Binkley as Senior Vice President and Commercial
Lender; Kay Kirsche as Vice President and Commercial Lender; and
Kelly Lindley as Administrative Assistant.
Add GBA to List of
Approved Emailers
A bonus of
getting the
e-Bulletin
and
e-Legislative Update is the number of links that are included,
which is a great way to keep your key employees informed of significant
industry information, trends and events. We are all concerned with
controlling the amount of spam that reaches our email boxes but in order
for you to receive the e-Bulletin and e-Legislative Update,
your bank’s email controls must be set to accept them from the GBA. To
prevent disclosing our members’ email addresses, we obscure the addresses
and this can sometimes keep our publications from reaching your email
box. Please contact your system administrator and have them add the GBA
to your bank’s approved list of emailers. If you would like to add your
email address to our distribution list, please email
Lydia Thomas.
Be sure to include the name and email address of each person to be added.
