About the GBA  I  Professional Development  I  Government Relations  I  Services

July 2, 2004
 

Georgia Banks Perform Well
At the Organizational Meetings held last week for all of GBA’s more than 200 volunteers, Steve Powell of Steve H. Powell & Company in Statesboro, made an interesting presentation about Georgia bank performance.  Steve talked about bank performance using the familiar CAMELS rating components.  Overall, Georgia banks have strong capital, good asset quality with declining problem loan percentages and good profitability.  The biggest concern Steve highlighted was with liquidity and the reliance by many banks on non-core deposits for funding.  Steve explained how some of the composite statistics reported by the FDIC tend to skew results when looking at the performance numbers on an aggregate basis when viewed in various asset size categories.  For example, the FDIC statistics on bank performance only include Georgia-based charters, so many large banks with Georgia operations are excluded.  Also, because Georgia has so many de novo banks which are still reaching for profitability, the statistics for banks under $100 million need to be viewed with that fact in mind.  Other than liquidity, Steve suggested bankers need to be vigilant as you manage in an increasing interest rate environment and strive to retain and recruit quality bank management talent.

Homeland Security May Visit Banks
FDIC Regional Director Mark Schmidtt informed the southeast state banking commissioners of a recent visit an Alabama bank received as part of Operation Cornerstone, a program being conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).   The FDIC learned about the DHS initiative after hearing from the bank that the ICE agent visited; the bank president was provided with informational material about ICE activities.  As this program is not well known, we thought you should be aware of it in the event your bank receives such a visit.  Operation Cornerstone is a financial investigations program established to identify vulnerabilities in financial systems through which criminals launder their illicit proceeds.  The program was initiated in 2003 and also involves outreach by ICE agents to the financial services industry. An objective of the program is to establish a working partnership with financial services industry representatives and ICE plans to share information learned from their investigations with the financial sector to eliminate industry-wide security gaps that could be exploited by money launderers and other criminal organizations.  The program is ongoing.  DHS reported that there is no schedule for the outreach visits by ICE agents and not all banks may be contacted.  Each ICE office is responsible for administering the program and it appears that visits are occurring at random.

Excellence in Rehabilitation
Congratulations to First National Bank & Trust Company, Louisville, Bill Easterlin, President, for receiving an Excellence in Rehabilitation Award recently from the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation.  The bank bought the Sandersville post office in 2000 to use are their local branch and preserved the original façade, matched and extended the marble from the original quarry in Pickens County and is using some of the original open iron grillwork and postmaster’s vault.

GBA BankPAC Update
Since our last report, the following companies have participated by contributing to the GBA StatePAC:

·        Pete Miller, CEO, Regions Bank of Georgia, Gainesville
·        John Thompson, CEO, Community Bank and Trust - Troup, LaGrange
·        Ron Francis, CEO, Charter Bank and Trust Co., Marietta
·        Mike Owens, CEO, The Coastal Bank, Savannah
·        Ansel Clark, CEO, Guardian Bank, Valdosta

In addition, officers and directors of the following companies have contributed to the GBA FedPAC:

·        Ray Fisher, President, Regions Bank, Atlanta
·        Keith Caudell, President, The Coastal Bank of Georgia, Brunswick
·        Charlie Miller, President, Community Bank & Trust, Cornelia
·        Melton Tyson, CEO, The Morris State Bank, Dublin
·        Jack Floyd, CEO, Bank of Hazlehurst
·        John Thompson, CEO, Community Bank and Trust - Troup, Lagrange
·        Ron Francis, CEO, Charter Bank and Trust Co., Marietta
·        Mike Owens, CEO, The Coastal Bank, Savannah

Also, Unity National Bank, Cartersville, Mike McPherson, CEO, contributed to the Education Fund.  Thanks to all for your support. If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Elizabeth Chandler at (404) 420-2027.

Sub S Relief
The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee added Subchapter S relief language to a tax bill that has a chance of passage this year.  The Senate has not yet included Sub S relief in their version of a similar bill.  The House version increases the number of shareholders to 100, treats three generations of a family as one and removes the prohibition on conversion if shares are held in IRAs or if director shares have been issued.

ID Theft Bill to President
Congress has passed legislation that would mandate a two-year prison sentence for anyone who knowingly transferred, possessed, or used another person's identity during and in relation to specific felony violations.  Anyone taking such actions related to felonies involving terrorist acts would receive an additional five years in prison.  ID Theft continues to be on the rise and GBA’s ID Theft Public Awareness Campaign can help.

HMDA Seminar Offered
Effective January 1, 2004, six new Metropolitan Areas were added in Georgia making more Georgia banks subject to HMDA than ever before.  In addition, new rules and requirements have been added to an already overwhelming amount of data collection and reporting requirements. Steve Moore with Bank Compliance Services will cover key information needed to understand these new HMDA requirements.  Key issues to be covered in this seminar include identifying which current loan applications must be reported on HMDA, implementing procedures to collect required data and audit the HMDA/LAR for accuracy, the consequences for failing to maintain and submit an accurate HMDA report, and what to expect from the bank regulators regarding HMDA. Please call GBA’s Susie McGehee at (404) 420-2010 for more information.

Elder Fraud Education
The GBA is pleased to let the membership know of a program being sponsored by the Elder Rights Project of the Coastal Georgia Area Agency on Aging and The Division of Continuing Education and Public Service of Georgia Southern University.  Scheduled for July 29 at the Holiday Inn on Jekyll Island, the program is designed to aid in financial fraud prevention against older adults and will feature discussions on the tools cons use, how to protect against becoming a victim, ensuring personal safety at home and predatory lending.  Please contact Deborah Champion or Jan Reynolds at (912) 681-5555 for more information.  Click here for online registration.

Legislative Update at Conference
Final preparations are being made for Leadership GBA’s 44^th Annual Leadership Conference.  This year’s event will be held July 18-21 at the Hilton Oceanfront Resort on Hilton Head Island, SC and State Representative Barry Fleming will discuss the highlights of the 2004 session of the Georgia General Assembly, including those issues of importance to bankers as well as to Georgia's overall business climate.  We also expect that Rep. Fleming will reinforce the importance of our industry's involvement in the governmental process. If you would like to attend this event, there’s still time to register. Please call GBA’s Susie McGehee at (404) 420-2010 with questions.

Group Insurance for Part-Time Employees
Effective July 1, 2004, the GBA Insurance Trust group plan will allow employees considered permanent part-time to be insured for life, medical and dental benefits. Part-time employees will not be eligible for long-term disability coverage, however, and whether to insure part-time employees will be at each employer’s discretion. The guidelines to insure part-time employees have been set by Blue Cross and Blue Shield and a notice containing guideline details was recently mailed to each Insurance Administrator.  Please call Susan Kelley at (404) 420-2017 if you have any questions.

Welcome New Associate Members
Congratulations to the following companies for being approved for Associate Membership at the June 25, 2004 Board Meeting:

·        ABN AMRO Mortgage Group, Inc., Troy, MI, Scott Heilmuan, CEO
·         Dotcomments.com, Albany, Chris Hatcher, President
·         Financial Solutions, Lake Lure, NC, Patti Blenden, President
·         High Resolution, Inc., Decatur, Kimberly Walton, President & CEO
·         JHH Investments, Inc., Dahlonega, Joe Hall, CEO
·         Keefe, Bruyette, & Woods, Inc., Dublin, OH, John Duffy, CEO
·         SafePro Security Systems, Sandersville, Mike Brewton, President
·         Security Check, Atlanta, Cosby Benton, Managing Partner

Associate Members have played an important part of the GBA during most of our 111 years.  Today, more than 150 businesses are enjoying increased visibility and expanded marketing opportunities while banks are receiving more options for top quality, cost-effective products and services.  Company descriptions and contact information have been added to our webpage or contact Renee Valdez at (404) 420-2036.

Pledging Pool Participation Rapidly Increasing
We are pleased to see the participation for the Pledging Pool Program increasing among our member institutions and excited to be a part of this Program.  The Pledging Pool Program, administered exclusively through GBA Services Inc., has seen a dramatic increase in awareness throughout the public sector since it began operation January 1, 1999.  GBA Services, Inc. was selected by the State as administrator of the Pledging Pool based primarily on our long history of providing exceptional administrative services to member institutions.  We have established a sophisticated administration process and data processing system to track pooled collateral activity associated with each participating public depository institution.  Each participating financial institution may establish its own collateral pool based on public depositors that select the pooled approach in lieu of the current dedicated method.  Using the pooled method, financial institutions are able to pledge a pool of securities against all public deposits, allowing for better control of the 110% collateral requirement.   This simplified process reduces safekeeping and administrative costs without disrupting day-to-day operations and allows you, the bank to better maintain your excess collateral.  For those banks who are currently participating in the Georgia State Pledging Pool, please forward all audits pertaining to the securitization of your public depositors’ deposits.  Audits are responded to through the GBA office, which is an additional benefit with your participation.  To learn more about this program or for audit information, please call GBA’s Renee Valdez at (404) 420-2036.

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.

We Will Miss…
Our sympathies are extended to the family, friends and colleagues of W. Ray Houston on his recent death. He was former President of Fulton County Bank in East Point and served as GBA Chairman from 1968-1969.

For Sale
Modular Bank Building: 2,485 sq. ft. building with HVAC, entrance canopy, drive-up window canopy, night deposit box with vault, cash vault, security cameras, under-counter teller cabinets and drawers, installed counter tops and cabinets in operations area, carpet and window coverings. Please contact John Hall at (770) 505-3609 for more information.

Latest Banks to Link
Welcome to Georgia Banking Company, Atlanta, Elliott Miller, CEO, and American Trust Bank, Roswell, Douglas Higgins, CEO, as the latest banks to link to GBA’s website. Call Lydia Thomas at (404) 420-2039 when your bank is ready to link.

Congratulations to the following:

Dallas, First National Bank West Metro
Congratulations to John Hall, CEO, and the officers, directors and staff on the bank’s recent opening of its new main office.

Gainesville, Gainesville Bank & Trust
Mike Emigh has joined the bank as Assistant Vice President and Nick Kastner as Marketing Assistant.  Bridgette Meeler has been promoted to Assistant Vice President and Becky Brewer to Human Resources Officer.

Macon, Rivoli Bank
Susan Land and Donna Sanders have been promoted to Assistant Vice President.

Milledgeville, Exchange Bank
Hope Hines has been promoted to Mortgage Loan Officer.

Mount Vernon, Mount Vernon Bank
Gina Davis has been promoted to Cashier.

Richmond Hill, Bryan Bank & Trust
Yvonne Fowler has been promoted to Mortgage Originator.

Roswell, American Trust Bank
Douglas Higgins has been named President & CEO.

Savannah, The Coastal Bank
Leslie Thompson has been promoted to Branch Manager of the Rincon office and Bill West and Gale Mears to Mortgage Loan Officer at the Hilton Head, SC and Rincon offices, respectively.

Savannah, First Chatham Bank
Angie Butler has been promoted to Banking Officer at the Pooler office.

Savannah, The Savannah Bank
Carter Mobley has joined the bank as Banking Officer and Branch Manager.

www.gabankers.com

About the GBA  I  Professional Development  I  Government Relations  I  Services