Legislature Winding Down - Six Legislative Days Left in Session

After Friday, the General Assembly will four legislative days remaining and is expected to adjourn April 4.  They will be busy in the 2009 budget and dozens of other bills still awaiting final action.  GBA publishes a weekly Legislative Update giving our members the latest information about the legislation we are monitoring on your behalf.  Please contact GBA's Elizabeth Chandler at (404) 420-2027 with questions about any of these issues.

• Good Funds Bill Awaiting to be Heard/Drawing Controversy

• House Committee Reports Out Foreclosure Bill

• Securities Bill Reported with GBA Amendment

• Investment Bill Reported

• Mortgage Satisfaction Bill Reported

• Legislature in Final Days

Federal Reserve, Treasury, and Securities and Exchange Commission as facilitators of this agreement.”  Also getting in the spotlight are Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-IA) also are seeking information on the planned deal, writing federal regulators and the CEOs of the two companies to get details as part of their Committee’s jurisdiction over the “bonded debt of the United States.  And not to be outdone, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is suggesting more oversight is necessary with these new players having access to the Federal Reserve.  Said Paulson, “Certainly any regular access to the discount window should involve the same type of regulation and supervision” to which depository institutions are subject.  Paulson also called on Congress to complete work on legislation to reform regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and to modernize the Federal Housing Administration.

is headquartered. Yet another vishing attack sought Qwest customers in the Boulder region who may have belonged to the Boulder Valley Credit Union. A third vishing attack, against the Bank of the Cascades, produced an unusual response from the institution. The first stop in setting up this vishing volley was the compromise of a Web site called whitehousechronicles.com. The attackers broke into the site by exploiting an ancient flaw (in Internet time) in Horde, a free Webmail utility. Once there, they installed a bunch of scripts on the Web server; several of the scripts contained millions of provider- and region-specific phone numbers that would receive the vishing messages, while another listed the credentials needed to log into and send e-mail from dozens of outside e-mail servers. The attackers had previously compromised those e-mail servers by hijacking the accounts used to receive “abuse” complaints for those servers. The scammers were able to use those abuse inboxes to blast out spam because the administrators of those servers had failed to select strong passwords for the accounts.

SBA Revises Its Loan Processing SOP 50-10

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has developed a completely new and updated SOP that is, for the first time, directed specifically at participating lenders and development companies.  Previous versions forced lenders to determine which items in the SOP applied to them.  This is also the first version of the SOP that fully integrates the centralized processing of loan applications by SBA.  There are no major policy changes in the new version of the SOP, as SBA has continued to update the existing 50 10 by periodically publishing new policy notices over the past few years.  The new version does, however, include some minor modifications to existing policies.  SBA changed the format to make it easier to find specific requirements, to provide links to the regulations without cluttering the SOP, and to reduce it from a lengthy 1,000 pages to less than 400. The SBA is implementing the revised document now in order to get the improved version of the SOP into the hands of lenders as soon as possible.  The revised SOP is available on the SBA's website and lenders will have more than 30 days to review it prior to its implementation date of May 1, 2008.

Erik Wahl Slated as Closing Speaker at Annual Convention

Registrations are pouring in for GBA’s 2008 Annual Convention scheduled for June 15-18 at the St. Regis, Monarch Beach in Dana Point, California.  Closing this year’s event will be Erik Wahl of The Wahl Group in San Diego, CA.  Your best sustainable edge is being better at mastering change and innovation than your competition.  As the landscape for business continues to change, a clear vision is the key to successfully navigating tomorrow’s uncharted waters.  From small companies to large corporations, employees at all levels can better embrace the future by becoming more innovative.

Space is filling up quickly for GBA’s Credit Conference Mid Year Update  scheduled for Friday, April 18, at the Cobb Galleria in Atlanta.  Speakers include Steve Powell, President of Steve H. Powell and Company, Statesboro; Elaine Demarest, President of Demarest Strategy Group, Inc., Hilton Head, SC; Barry Cohen, Partner, Mauldin & Jenkins, LLC, Atlanta; and Gerald Blanchard, Partner, Powell Goldstein LLP, Atlanta.

Designed for chief credit officers, CEOs and CFOs, this one-day workshop will include up-to-date information concerning asset quality deterioration in the Atlanta metro area and throughout Georgia.  It will also include a summarization of the critical challenges and issues facing banks as well as a roadmap for addressing these issues in an orderly fashion.  With questions or to register, please call Courtenay Pope at (404) 420-2015 or Susie McGehee at (404) 420-2010.

Just a reminder that GBA will host its Loan Documentation for Lenders seminar on Wednesday, April 16, at the Ramada Plaza in Macon.  The registration fee is $195 for members and Thompson Kurrie, Jr. and Harrison Coleman, partners with Coleman Talley, LLP in Atlanta are the instructors.  Some of the topics to be covered include: 

• The Loan Closing Checklist: what it will and will not do

  Condition of the Collateral: due diligence

• Condition of the Title: title commitments and endorsements

• Condition of the Borrowers and Guarantors: organizational documents, UCC searches, financial statements

• Loan Documentation: loan commitment letters, loan agreements, promissory notes, guaranties, collateral assignments, Letters of Credit, Credit Memos

Designed for loan officers, loan administrators and credit administrators at every level,  this essential one-day seminar will cover the basics of loan documentation and matters to consider before and after the loan closing, including the condition of the collateral, the condition of the title and the condition of the borrowers and guarantors.  With questions, please contact GBA’s Courtenay Pope at (404) 420-2010. 

• Cash Flow Analysis

• A Systematic Framework for Applying Ratio Analysis

• Financial Projections

• Case Studies for Practical Application of Concepts Discussed

• Early Warning Signals

Designed for entry-level commercial lending officers, credit trainees and analysts, this two-day workshop is designed to introduce and utilize a comprehensive and consistent approach to analyzing commercial financial statements.  Emphasis is placed on a practical methodology to assist bankers in evaluating the creditworthiness of a company.  Please click here to register or contact GBA’s Courtenay Pope at (404) 420-2015 with questions.

GBA will host its annual Legal Issues of New Account Documentation and Compliance on April 29 at Idle Hour Country Club in Macon and April 30 at the Best Western Lanier Centre in Gainesville.  The registration fee is $195 for members and Patrice M. Konarik, CFP with Sunwest Training Corp. in Gilchrist, Texas, is the instructor.  Designed for new accounts representatives, back-up new account personnel, certificate of deposit staff, bookkeeping and accountholder service personnel, and loan secretaries, this one-day seminar teaches new account personnel proper account opening procedures and compliance requirements. Topics to be covered include:

• Signature card contracts

• CIP Compliance Overview

• TIN Compliance – SSN vs EIN

• Sole proprietorships, General and Limited Partnerships, Corporations, LLPs and LLCs

• Non profit associations

• Individual accounts

• Joint Tenancy–with the right of survivorship

• Tenants in Common-without the right of survivorship

• Power of Attorney

• Informal and Formal trust accounts

• Minor Accounts (UTMA)

• Court-ordered Accounts – Estate, Conservator

With questions, please contact GBA’s Courtenay Pope at (404) 420-2015.  Please register here for Macon or Gainesville.

Just a reminder that GBA will offer the following webinars during the weeks of March 31 and April 7:

• Opening Deposit Accounts II: Personal Accounts – April 2

• Lending to Service Members – April 3

• Loan Review – April 4

• Commercial Working Capital Lines of Credit – April 8

• Dealing with Work Appearance, Hygiene, and Young Workforce Styles – April 9

• Frequent Mistakes in Lending Compliance – April 10

• Understanding Revised Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code – April 10

Just a reminder that the following AIB online classes begin the week of April 21.  These courses are instructor-facilitated with weekly assignments 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.  (Classes with an asterisk * require Microsoft Excel Software.)  Please register two weeks in advance to secure a seat in the class. 

• ABA Online Review Course for the CTFA Exam (open enrollment), 12 weeks, $795

• Commercial Lending, 16 weeks, $385

• General Accounting, 16 weeks, $485

• Principles of Banking, 16 weeks, $385

• Today's Teller: Developing Basic Skills* (open enrollment), 8 weeks, $295

• Trust Operations, 15 weeks, $385

There is still availability in the following AIB Online classes beginning April 14.  Please register as soon as possible to secure a seat in the class.

• Analyzing Bank Performance, 7 weeks, $745

• Consumer Lending, 16 weeks, $385

• Financial Accounting*, 16 weeks, $485

• Introduction to Agricultural Lending, 8 weeks, $375

• Managing the Bank’s Investment Portfolio*, 6 weeks, $595

• Principles of Banking, Accelerated, 10 weeks, $315

Please see the AIB Online Course Schedule for a complete listing or call GBA’s Alison Moreau at (404) 420-2034 with questions.

Just a reminder that Tuesday, April 29, is National Teach Children to Save Day.  Bankers nationwide will trade in their balance sheets for blackboards and teach young people their financial ABCs.  Preparation for your presentation is easy, thanks to the ABA Education Foundation.  They have created two turnkey resource kits (Grades K-6 and Grades 7-12) that are easy to use and cost-effective.  Included in the kits are lesson plans, age appropriate activities, a quiz for parents, and website suggestions.

Leadership GBA’s 2007-2008 PEP goal is to make at least 65,000 contacts.  To date, just over 1,600 contacts have been reported to the GBA office.  The PEP reporting deadline date is May 31 and we need your help to achieve our goal!  It is easy to report your PEP contacts.  Each time you return from a visit to a school or other group presentation, simply complete a PEP Report Card and return it via mail or fax at (404) 522-9848 to the GBA office.

The Georgia Bankers Association is pleased to announce MainStreet Technologies (MST) as a new Strategic Partner.  The MST Loan Administration System is a complete program including evaluation, training, and the automation of the bank's processes for managing risk in real-time and minimizing loss.  It is a comprehensive program proven to reduce shareholder risk, improve regulatory compliance, save time and employee costs, add efficiency to operations, and improve and enhance customer service.  Bank leaders rely on the MST Loan Administration System to provide them and their board real-time information in the documents that secure their loans.  They can employ the System to virtually eliminate the issue of missing or expired documents.

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Georgia Bankers Association • 50 Hurt Plaza, Suite 1050, Atlanta, GA 30303 • Phone 404.522.1501 • Fax 404.522.9848 • www.gabankers.com