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October 29, 2004
We hope you have filed your comment letter with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) about their proposal that would direct how and when companies take losses on securities that are other than temporarily impaired. GBA filed our comment letter this week. The rule, which could significantly affect banks' asset/liability management as well as their bottom lines, centers on permanently writing down debt and equity securities that have experienced an other-than-temporary decline in value. Call GBA’s Elizabeth Chandler at (404) 420-2027 if you need help writing your letter.
Check 21 Implemented
The new Check 21 law went into effect yesterday and we’ve not had reports of any problems from our members. One bank told us of some difficulty in an early test of the system a few weeks ago, but that was quickly resolved. The article written by GBA President Joe Brannen appeared in many daily and weekly newspapers around the state. Joe also did several television and radio interviews with reporters to help explain the issue to consumers. Our thanks to Richard Eason with Neighbors Bank in Alpharetta and Clark Hungerford with Buckhead Community Bank in Atlanta for helping with a major story Atlanta TV and Radio personality Clark Howard did on the implementation. All the stories mentioned how float would be diminished and warned consumers to make sure they had money in their accounts to cover checks written.
BankPAC Classic Raises Record Amount
Leadership GBA’s Fourth Annual Georgia BankPAC Classic proved to be a success with 63 bankers and associate members in attendance. “We were pleased with the attendance this year as well as the contribution that we were able to make to the Georgia BankPAC,” said Leadership GBA President Rob Coile of Futurus Bank, N.A. in Alpharetta. Due to the generosity of the owners of The Club at River Forest in Forsyth who donated the course, food and refreshments; the sponsors of the various holes; and the contributions from the bankers who played, the tournament is expected to net around $11,000 for the StatePAC.
October 31st Deadline Extended for CDARS Program
GBA and Promontory Interfinancial Network have worked together to provide GBA members a 40% discount off the implementation fee associated with the CDARS product. This discount has been extended to November 15, 2004. Through the Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service® (CDARS) a bank is able to offer their customers FDIC insurance on deposits up to $10 million. CDARS is a deposit solution providing customers with an alternative to other high-quality, fixed-income investments, while improving liquidity within the financial institution. Many of GBA’s members have already taken advantage of this program and are now using CDARS with their public funds program. To learn more about CDARS, please call GBA’s Renee Valdez (404) 420-2036 or Karl Nelson (770) 262-8446.