About the GBA
I Professional Development I
Government Relations I
Services
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December 2, 2005 |
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Legislative Reception Reminder Plans are being finalized for GBA’s annual Legislative Reception. This premier event is slated for Wednesday, January 11, 2006, from 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency, Atlanta. Invitations are being mailed to legislators and special guests this week and we anticipate a great crowd. It is important that a large number of bankers attend and show their support for the banking industry and the Association by registering a group of representatives from every bank. If you plan to spend the night, remember that the cut-off date for the special GBA rate of $154 per night at the Hyatt is December 31. You may reserve a room by calling the Hyatt at (404) 577-1234. Please call Susie McGehee at (404) 420-2010 with questions about the reception or hotel reservations. Register representatives from your bank now and make plans to attend one of the GBA’s most important events of the year. Credit Unions Still Making Efforts As reported in the last e-Bulletin, the credit unions were unsuccessful in getting their 
language added to the banking industry’s regulatory relief bill
when that bill was reported out of committee. The credit unions are still
pushing their bill that would give them more commercial lending
authority while reducing their capital requirements, and there
are many other steps along the way when they can make another
run at adding their language to our bill. Over 2,000 Georgia
bankers have written letters to Congress opposing the credit
union’s legislation but more are needed. All these letters were
written from the
Action Alert link on our website that generated letters
and the chart showing the number
of letters written by congressional district follows this
article. Several members have told us the link and the DVD we
sent all the banks on grassroots involvement were great ways to
let more people in the bank get involved in the process.
However, we have also heard from bankers saying they would like
to either write their own letter or have GBA access the link on
their behalf to generate the letter. To accommodate those
requests, we are providing a
form showing you the text of the letter that would be
generated from the link. You may either copy the text of that
letter and put it on your own personal letterhead; or
alternatively, we would be happy to fill out the electronic form
on your behalf – just fax back the form and we will take it from
there.
Emergency Preparedness
Survey
Credit Conference Huge Success Our thanks to Credit Committee Chair Mark Hancock with Piedmont Bank of 
Georgia, Atlanta, and the entire Committee for planning
an outstanding conference held this week and attended by almost
200 senior credit officers from banks across Georgia. “Today’s
credit professional must stay abreast of the most up-to-date
information available and network with their peers to stay
competitive. The
Credit Conference gives us those opportunities, and we
were pleased with the feedback we received from the
participants,” Mark said. Prior to the Conference, a
subcommittee met to discuss other professional development
opportunities for the entire credit area of the bank, so be
looking for more news about their work in future publications.Winter/Spring AIB Online Training In partnership with the American Bankers Association and the American Institute of Banking, GBA is now offering its 2006 Winter/Spring online courses. Last year, more bankers from Georgia took online courses than bankers from any other state. These instructor-led online classes range from five to 16 weeks in length and can be taken from the comfort of your home or the convenience of your office. All you need is a computer, printer and Internet access. Some of the courses included are Commercial Lending, Consumer Lending, Financial Accounting, General Accounting and Principles of Banking. For your convenience, online registration is available by clicking the course link in the schedule of courses. Please call GBA’s Fran Williams at (404) 420-2015 with questions. Alliance Benefit Group Receives “Best In Class” Award GBA Retirement Services, Inc. is pleased to announce that its 401(k) administrator, Alliance Benefit Group (“ABG”) was recently singled out by Plan Sponsor magazine as “Best in Class – Account Representative Expertise.” Plan Sponsor magazine conducts surveys of retirement plan providers and investment managers to assist decision makers in comparing and evaluating retirement plan choices. In addition, 401k Exchange, an independent industry research company, has identified ABG as a “Top Rated Administrator.” ABG also offers payroll services to Trust members at competitive prices and will help reduce administrative work for your retirement plan. The Master Trust provides high quality, affordable pension, profit sharing, and Section 401(k) programs for banks of all sizes. If your bank does not have a 401(k) plan in place, it is not too late to get one started for 2006. Please contact Mandy Richards at (404) 420-2025 for information on how GBA Retirement Services can help design a retirement plan for your bank. Status of Important Banking Cases The “Status of Important Banking Cases” is made available monthly to members of the Bank Counsel Section as an enhanced value to your membership. Our thanks to the American Bankers Association's Office of General Counsel for providing this resource. If your bank’s counsel is not yet a member, check out all the benefits of joining. Please call GBA’s Kenyetta Parks at (404) 420-2036 for information. Pledging Pool Participation Increases We are pleased to see that participation in the Pledging Pool program is increasing among our member institutions. The Program, administered exclusively through GBA Services Inc., has seen a dramatic increase in awareness throughout the public sector. The Pledging Pool allows for better control of the 110% requirement with far less administration, allowing you, the bank, to better maintain your excess collateral. The program also allows for your bank to treat all of the deposits as a “pool” of securities rather than a dedicated method. As one account’s deposit increase, a corresponding amount for collateral does not necessarily need to. To learn more about this program, please call GBA’s Kenyetta Parks (404) 420-2035. Gladiator Technology Delivers CoreDEFENSE Flagship Offering to Protect Financial Institutions in New Regulatory Environment In response to recommendations set forth in recent federal legislation, Gladiator Technology Services, Inc. is reintroducing CoreDEFENSE, its integrated, comprehensive 24x7x365 intrusion prevention and detection security service, specifically designed and developed for financial institutions. CoreDEFENSE shields and protects critical information using an extensive multi-layered approach to guard critical data and repel malicious attacks, both inside and outside a financial institution’s network. A recent study indicates that 70 percent of all security violations originate from inside a financial institution’s network. Therefore, CoreDEFENSE provides not only critical perimeter security functionality, but the technology incorporates multiple layers of internal security alerts and functions as well. More 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 Kenyetta Parks at (404) 420-2035. Latest Banks to Link Welcome to Hometown Community Bank, Braselton, Sean Childers, CEO, and Legacy State Bank, Loganville, Mack Ivey, 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. Newsmakers: Cartersville - Century Bank of Bartow County Richard E. “Rick” Drews, Jr. has been elected Chief Executive Officer for the bank and its holding company, CCB Bancorp. David H. Caswell has been elected President and Chief Operating Officer. Both were also named to the bank’s Board of Directors. Duluth - Horizon Bank On December 1, the bank’s name changed to Haven Trust Bank. Gainesville - Gainesville Bank & Trust Johnnie Mejia has been named Branch Manager of the bank’s Banco Familiar office. Marietta - Highland Commercial Bank Andrew M. “Andy” Kamm has joined the bank as Vice President, Lending. Robert C. “Bob” Wade has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Lending and Norma J. Robinson to Assistant Vice President, Operations. Marietta - Security Exchange Bank Josh Baldwin has been promoted to Branch Manager, South Cobb and McGee Lynch to Branch Manager, Cobb Parkway. Moultrie - ABC Bancorp On December 1, the holding company’s name changed to Ameris Bancorp. Its subsidiaries will operate under the name Ameris. Sparta - Bank of Hancock County Our sympathies to the family, friends and colleagues of President S. H. “Sam” Hollis, III who died recently. Smyrna - Community Bank of the South Tracey L. Quillen has joined the bank as Vice President/Construction & Development Lending and Melinda Neese has been promoted to Assistant Vice President. |
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Calendar of Events |
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| Details for December | ||
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Conferences |
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| Dec. 8-9 | Liquidity Management Workshop | Atlanta |
| Feb. 8-10, 2006 | HR Professionals Institute | Braselton |
| March 2-3, 2006 | Financial Risk Management Conference | Atlanta |
| March 16-17, 2006 | Operations and Technology Conference | Atlanta |
| April 6-7, 2006 | Security Conference | Savannah |
| May 25-26, 2006 | Rural Development and Lending Conference | St. Simons Island |
| July 16-19, 2006 | Leadership Conference | Orlando, FL |
| Sept. 5-7, 2006 | GACHA's Solutions 2006 | Atlanta |
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Conventions/Events |
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| Jan. 11, 2006 | Legislative Reception | Atlanta |
| June 18-21, 2006 | Annual Convention | Naples, FL |
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Schools |
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| Feb. 20-22, 2006 | Southeastern School of Advanced Commercial Lending | Nashville, TN |
| March 5-10, 2006 | Southeastern School of Consumer Credit | Nashville, TN |
| April 30-May 4, 2006 | Georgia Banking School | Athens |
| May 21-26, 2006 | Southeastern School of Commercial Lending | Nashville, TN |
| May 21 - June 2, 2006 | Graduate School of Banking at LSU | Baton Rouge, LA |
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| Dec. 6 | Financial Institution Security | Webinar |
| Dec. 7 | Analyzing Personal Financial Statements & Tax Returns | Macon |
| Dec. 7 | RESPA: What's Old, What's New | Webinar |
| Dec. 8 | Introduction to Commercial Lending, Part 1 | Telephone |
| Dec. 13 | Telephone | |
| Dec. 14 | 2005 Lending Compliance Update: Year End Review | Telephone |
| Dec. 14 | IRS Reporting for Banks | Webinar |
| Dec. 16 | Introduction to Commercial Lending, Part 2 | Telephone |
| Jan. 12, 2006 | HMDA: Preparing for the March 1, 2006 Data Submission | Telephone |
| Jan. 13, 2006 | Avoiding Losses on Treasury Checks & ACH Payments | Telephone |
| Jan. 19, 2006 | Loan Documentation for Lenders | Tifton |
| Jan. 20, 2006 | Loan Doc 101, Part 1 | Telephone |
| Jan. 24, 2006 | Bank Secrecy Act for Frontline Personnel | Telephone |
| Jan. 25, 2006 | Bank Director | Macon |
| Jan. 26, 2006 | Bankruptcies, Garnishments, Liens & Levies | Cartersville |
| Jan. 27, 2006 | Loan Doc 101, Part 2 | Telephone |
| Feb. 1-2, 2006 | Advance Compliance Symposium | Macon |
| Feb. 8/9, 2006 | IRA: The Basics | Gainesville/Macon |
| Feb. 22, 2006 | Introduction to Consumer Lending | Cartersville |
| Feb. 28, 2006 | Construction Lending | Macon |
| April 13, 2006 | Bank Director | Tifton |
| Board/Committee Meetings | ||
| Dec. 8 | Operations and Technology Committee Meeting | Atlanta |
| Jan. 11, 2006 | GBA Board of Directors | Atlanta |
| Jan. 11, 2006 | GBA Board, BankPAC Board & Public Affairs Committee | Atlanta |
| Jan. 12, 2006 | Leadership GBA Executive Committee | Atlanta |
| Jan. 12, 2006 | GBA Services, Inc. Board of Directors | Atlanta |
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www.gabankers.com |