A regular electronic publication of the Georgia Bankers Association
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Electronic
Publications
IRS Launches New
Program for Business Taxpayers
On January 12,
2004, the
Internal Revenue Service launched a new program for new business
taxpayers designed to boost electronic payment of taxes. Electronic
Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) Express Enrollment for New
Businesses will affect all businesses receiving a new Employer
Identification Number (EIN) by automatically pre-enrolling them in the
EFTPS to make all their Federal Tax Deposits. In addition to receiving
their EIN, taxpayers will also receive a separate mailing containing an
EFTPS Personal Identification Number (PIN) and instructions for activating
their enrollment by calling an 800-number. After completing enrollment,
taxpayers or their designated tax professionals can make payments 24 hours
a day, 7 days a week from home or office by telephone or computer. They
can schedule payments and review the last 16 months of EFTPS tax payment
history online or by calling Customer Service. All four Form 1040ES
Estimated Tax Payments can be scheduled in one session. A major upgrade to
the Internet version of the EFTPS, the
EFTPS-Online includes several improvements to make the site
user-friendly. If your bank does not currently offer an electronic federal
tax payment option, you may provide the option by adding to your website
EFTPS-Online’s link (http://www.eftps.gov)
and marketing materials for EFTPS are available to your bank at no cost.
Order these free products by calling the
Small Business/Self-Employed Taxpayer Education and Communication
office in Atlanta at (404) 338-9540, Elayn Ansari, Senior Tax
Specialist.
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The recent rule issued by the Comptroller of the Currency on the kinds of laws that are preempted at the state level continues to create much debate both within and outside the banking industry. Using the Georgia Fair Lending Act (GFLA) as the first step in the process, Comptroller John Hawke ruled GFLA did not apply to national banks. That ruling triggered the provision in GFLA that also granted preemption to state chartered banks. Concurrently with the GFLA ruling, the Comptroller issued a set of guidelines the
OCC would use going forward on the types of
laws that would be preempted if enacted by state legislatures. This second
action has drawn the most criticism from state banking commissioners,
attorneys general and governors. At a recent meeting of the
GBA Board of Directors,
Public Affairs Committee and
BankPAC Board,
Georgia Department of Banking and Finance Commissioner David
Sorrell discussed the reasons he and other state regulators were
concerned. He told the bankers that the states had a long track record of
proactive consumer protection measures in place, and to exempt nationally
chartered banks from those consumer protection laws was not in the best
interest of the state of Georgia. He also stated that his colleagues felt
the appropriate response to preemption was to consider preemption on an
issue-by-issue basis rather than with such a broad new rule. At the federal
level, a hearing was held this week by the Oversight and Investigations
Subcommittee of the
House Financial Services Committee. Speaking on behalf of the OCC,
General Counsel Julie Williams said action by numerous states
threatened to disrupt credit markets, and the agency had followed normal
rule making procedures and considered the issue for over a year before
taking action. The OCC’s rule preempts state laws on lending that affect
licensing, terms of credit, permissible interest rates and various
disclosure laws. The OCC rule does not apply to criminal actions against
banks and does not affect laws such as anti-discrimination statutes that do
not address the core issues of lending or deposit taking. Most bank legal
scholars have sided with the OCC in supporting their ability to adopt the
rule.
2004 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
e-Legislative Update
Throughout the General Assembly session, the GBA will be publishing a weekly
Legislative Update. As a subscriber to our e-Bulletin service, you
will be able to link directly to the
e-Legislative Update. We will
have hyperlinks to the bill summaries managed on the General Assembly's
website so you can view the most up-to-date versions of the
legislation. Please give us any feedback
on this member service.
AICPA Backs Down on
Loan Loss Rule
The
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
announced this week that they had decided to drop their proposed rule
related to loan loss reserves. The decision was unanimous among those
voting on the proposal. Had the rule taken effect, it would have resulted
in lower loan loss reserves for most banks, increased volatility in the
loan loss account and taken away the ability to include management’s best
guess on future losses. AICPA said they would instead focus on improving
disclosure requirements related to credit risk and loan loss allowances.
The original proposal brought a firestorm of protests from bankers, the
GBA and federal banking regulators.
Newsflash for Online Subscribers:
Bankruptcy Bill Passes House
The
House has passed
S. 1920, legislation that would have extended Chapter 12 farm
bankruptcy. However, the House
replaced the bill's text with broad
bankruptcy reform legislation the House adopted last year. The House
requested a conference with the Senate. The strategy of the House
leadership is to allow the Senate to avoid a long and protracted floor
debate on the broader bankruptcy bill which has passed the senate several
times in the past. The bill as now amended is substantially the same as
broad bankruptcy reform legislation that former President Clinton pocket
vetoed. The three Georgia members of Congress who voted against the
original bill, again voted against the bill this time: Reps.
John Lewis,
Jim Marshall and
Denise Majette. No word yet on what action the
Senate will take.
Credit Union Expansion
The
U.S. House of Representatives is considering a bill that would
greatly expand the commercial lending authority of credit unions. The
Credit Union Regulatory Improvements Act of 2003,
H.R. 3579, approaches the expansion in two ways. First, the
cap on commercial lending would be increased from 12.25% to 20% of all
outstanding loans. Second, the loan amounts that are excluded from inclusion
in the above cap would be raised from $50,000 to $100,000. Not only would
their commercial lending authority be greatly increased, the bill also
changes the definition of “net worth ratio” to allow the credit unions to
possibly reduce their required minimum capital levels. The new definition
artificially inflates the capital cushion regulators could use if a credit
union went bust. See a copy of GBA’s
letter to the Georgia congressional delegation opposing the bill.
Calendar of Events
Schools
Conferences
Seminars
Events
American Institute of Banking
Leadership GBA
Personal Economics Program (PEP)
Internet Training
Live Online
Seminars
GBA and
The Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
will offer five seminars in March. The seminars are divided in to two to
six 90-minute sessions and you pay only one site registration fee for as
many participants as you wish:
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A Modern Course in Asset/Liability Management for Community Bankers, March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, April 7
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Agricultural Lending in the 21st Century, March 30, April 1
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Eight Habits of Effective Bank Managers, March 23, 25
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Improved Deposit Decision Making, March 18, 25, April 1, 8
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Next Generation Companies, March 9, 11, 12
Executive Management
Academy: A Peer-to-Peer Roundtable
The second
session of the
Executive Management Academy will be held February 9 at the 1842 Inn
in Macon and will focus on Credit Risk Management. John Barrickman,
President of
New Horizons Financial Group, will facilitate the session.
Discussions will center around comprehensive credit risk management, your
institution’s tolerance for risk, and identifying, quantifying, managing and
mitigating portfolio risk. The Executive Management Academy is designed in a
peer-to-peer roundtable format and addresses issues of importance to CEOs,
presidents and executive management. You may attend all six sessions or
select individual sessions to attend based on the content. For more details,
call GBA’s
Elizabeth Todd at (404) 420-2031.
Phone Seminar
Audiotapes Available
Did you miss a
GBA telephone seminar in 2003 due to a scheduling conflict? Did you
participate in a seminar and wish you could share the information with your
staff? GBA can help you with either problem. GBA’s 2003 telephone seminars
are still available on audiotape through
KRM Information Services. If you would like to purchase a tape, just
complete the
form
and return it to KRM. If you have questions about these seminars, please
call
Fran Williams at (404) 420-2015.
Retirement Services, Inc.
GBA Services, Inc.
Online Expo
Welcome New
Participant
The
Board of Directors of the
GBA Insurance Trust, Inc. welcomes to the Trust Mountain Valley
Community Bank, Cleveland, Marc Green, CEO, and New Horizons
Bank, Ellijay, Kent Sanford, CEO. These companies join more
than 290 community banks and associate members in this unmatched member
benefit. Please call GBA’s
Susan Kelley at (404) 420-2017 for more information.
Participants
Benefit from Market Gains
GBA Retirement Services, Inc.
is pleased with the investment returns for 2003 of both investment
managers,
Atlanta Capital Management and
Reliance Trust Company. Both firms are still outperforming most of
their comparative long-term benchmarks. Please refer to the
update for
detailed returns. In addition, the third-party administrator for the GBA
Master Trust,
Alliance Benefit Group, now offers payroll services to current
members of the Trust at reduced rates and can also reduce monthly and
year-end administration in your retirement plan. The programs offered
through the GBA Master Trust provide flexibility to meet the needs of any
bank or associate member who may be looking at adding or changing their
qualified retirement plan. Please contact
Mandy Richards at (404) 420-2025 for information on how GBA
Retirement Services can help design a retirement plan for your bank.
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.
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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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Welcome New Associate Members
Congratulations to the following companies for being approved for
Associate Membership at the January 14, 2004 Board Meeting:
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Audit Solutions, LLC, Atlanta, David Williams, President
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Business Environments, Inc., Roswell, Ken Morris, President
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Crowe Chizek and Company, LLC, Brentwood, TN, Mark Hildabrand, CEO
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Elliott Davis, LLC, Greenville, SC, Garry Rank, Shareholder
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Financial Management Services, Gainesville, J. Reid Moore, Owner
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GACHA, Atlanta, David Peterson, Chairman
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IS Audits, Inc., Macon, Joe Lima, President
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Segars, Blake & Associates, Milledgeville, Donna Segars, Partner
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Thigpen, Jones, Seaton & Co., PC, Dublin, Scottie Jones, Managing Partner
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The Todd Organization, Atlanta, Mel Todd, CEO
Hiring the Right Person…..
For the right
job is not an easy task
The Georgia
Bankers Association has teamed up with
Corporate Psychology Resources to provide financial industry
specific, online psychological assessments to aid in your successful
hiring decisions. This internet-based product measures core personality
traits and provides you with valuable, immediate feedback about the
candidate you are considering. The profiles that have been
established include:
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Teller
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Customer Service Representative
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Loan Processor
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Network Administrator
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Consumer Lending Officer
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Commercial Lending Officer
These profiles have been developed by GBA member banks and will be available to all GBA members at a discounted price. We are excited to be able to provide discounted psychological assessments to be used in the hiring process and targeted to the banking industry. For more information, contact GBA’s Renee Valdez (404) 420-2036 or Jon Naphin (404) 266-9368.
GBA Job Bank
The Georgia
Bankers Association offers free job posting resources for our member
banks. These listings can be viewed
online or through our bi-weekly publication included in the GBA
Bulletin. Resume postings are also available. For more information
please contact GBA’s
Renee Valdez (404) 420-2036, or
Kenyetta Parks (404) 420-2035.
Alpharetta,
Bank of North Georgia
Gregg Ivey
and Ron
Garrard have
been elected to the Board.
Alpharetta,
North Atlanta National Bank
Scott J.
Garland has
joined the bank as President and Chief Operating Officer and Connie R.
Pence as Executive Vice President.
Atlanta,
Fidelity Bank
Bill Abernathy
has joined the bank as Senior Vice President of Retail Lending and Steve
O and Michael Pierson as Vice President, Commercial Lending.
Laverne Deckert and Joel Henson have been promoted to
Banking Officer. Dan Ford has been elected Vice President of
Commercial Lending and Senior Credit Officer; Kathy Druckenmiller,
Security and BSA Officer; and Josh Ellis, Banking Officer and
Assistant Branch Manager.
Atlanta,
Flag Bank
James A.
LaHaise has
been promoted to Executive Vice President, Chief Revenue Officer and Kim
M. Childers to Executive Vice President, Chief Credit Officer. Paula
W. Knight has been named Manager of the Hogansville office and Joyce
B. Upchurch, Manager of the LaGrange office. Donyale L. Thatch, CCM,
has joined the bank as Senior Vice President, Treasury Management Services;
Undrae L. Mitchell as Vice President, Portfolio Manager; H. Corey
Hooper as Assistant Vice President, Commercial Lending; and Blake W.
Bennett as Vice President, Commercial Lending and Branch Manager of the
Vienna office.
Jackson,
McIntosh State Bank
Christy
Chewning
has been promoted to Assistant Banking Officer.
Statesboro,
Sea Island Bank
Hillary
Oliver and
Gay Dailey have been named Banking Officer.
Deborah G. Barrow has been named Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Human Resource Officer; Renae Borum has been elected Operations Officer; and Beth Williford, Loan Operations Officer.
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.
