August 5, 2005

Our congratulations to John Dugan who was confirmed by the Senate and sworn in this week as Comptroller of the Currency. Dugan is well-known in the banking community and was most recently a partner in the law firm of Covington & Burling, where he specializes in banking and financial institution regulation. American Bankers Association (ABA) members may know him as he has also been the outside counsel to the ABA Securities Association, an ABA affiliate. Dugan served as Treasury assistant secretary for domestic finance during the administration of President George H.W. Bush. Before that, he was Republican general counsel to the Senate Banking Committee.  The Senate also confirmed John Reich to be Office of Thrift Supervision Director and Martin Gruenberg to be FDIC Vice Chairman.

Group Meetings Begin in Four Weeks
A highlight of GBA’s year is our annual series of ten Group Meetings around the state. The Group Meetings begin on September 7 with the first four slated that week for Athens, Braselton, Rome and Atlanta.  Group 9 bankers are reminded that their meeting has been moved from Chattahoochee Country Club to Chateau Elan.  The Group Meetings are informative and provide an excellent opportunity for visiting with other bankers in your area.  They will feature an brief discussion about some recent innovative services available from the Georgia Bankers Association along with some good dialogue about major state and federal issues before the industry.  Your GBA local leadership is elected at these meetings, so be sure to attend.  Online registration is available.  Please call Susie McGehee at (404) 420-2010 with questions.

Guidance Released on Tobacco Payments Program
In a recent e-Bulletin, we reported on the planned efforts by the federal banking agencies to address questions about the Tobacco Transition Payment Program.  This week, the FDIC has released examiner guidance regarding the proper treatment of assignments of tobacco transition payments and successor-in-interest contracts.  If your bank is involved in these payments, please click here for additional information about the guidance or call GBA’s Elizabeth Chandler at (404) 420-2027 questions.

Deposit Insurance Reform Legislation Introduced in Senate
Deposit Insurance Reform has begun to get more attention in Congress.  You may recall that the House of Representatives passed their version of the reform measure in early May sending the issue to the U.S. Senate.  Before Congress left for the August recess, Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) filed his version of a reform bill (S. 1562) that will be the basis of Senate action. The bill is quite similar to the House version in that it would also merge the Bank Insurance Fund and the Savings Association Insurance Fund, increase insurance for retirement funds $250,000, and adjust insurance coverage of deposit accounts for inflation.  Banks that had been paying for insurance prior to 1996 would get credits if the FDIC ever had to begin assessing premiums.  The amount of money in the fund is also capped.  The bill was introduced with bipartisan support and we expect it will receive serious consideration later this year.

Changes to SBA’s 7(a) Program Proposed
Senate Small Business Committee Chairman Olympia Snowe (R-ME) introduced legislation (S. 1603) dealing with the popular SBA 7(a) loan program.  Among other things, the bill would increase the maximum size of a 7(a) loan from $2 million to $3 million; raise the maximum guarantee from $1.5 million to $2.25 million; increase the 7(a) program’s authorization level from $17 billion to $18 billion for fiscal year 2006; and create an alternative size-standard for the program that would consider a business’s net worth and income.  Hearings on her legislation have not yet been scheduled.

Credit Committee Plans Conference
Under the guidance of committee chair Mark Hancock with Piedmont Bank in Atlanta, the GBA Credit Committee met this week to finalize plans for the annual Credit Conference slated for November 30-December 1 at the Cobb Galleria.  Our thanks to these 29 bankers who are giving of their time and effort in support of their industry and association.  This Conference is one of our premier conferences attended by bankers throughout Georgia, so be looking for more information soon.

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