All Hands on Deck -- Get Involved as a GBA Volunteer

Among the main reasons GBA is such a valuable resource to its members is the deep pool of experience and leadership provided by the more than 225 bankers who volunteer each year to serve on a committee or board. Our members are facing unprecedented challenges today, so continued involvement and service to your fellow bankers is more important than ever. GBA banker volunteers serve as key leaders who help our institutions better understand and adjust to rapidly changing political, regulatory and educational needs of today’s banking environment. Andy Williams, GBA’s Chairman-elect and President of United Community Bank, Blairsville, is starting this year’s committee-appointment process by looking for bankers who want to join their colleagues from across Georgia in service to their industry. “I know each of us is working as hard as we can to take care of our own customers and our own banks, but today’s environment calls for all hands on deck

Gold Dome Update: GBA Provides Resources During Break in General Assembly Session

We always look to serve as a resource for legislators to help them understand the important issues facing our banks and bankers. So, this week, with the General Assembly in recess to observe the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and the Presidential Inauguration, we took the opportunity to share information with key legislators. We distributed copies of our State of the Industry report to each member of the Georgia House and Senate banking and economic development committees as well as House and Senate leadership.

Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson is busy with financial services issues. Thursday he co-sponsored legislation with Kent Conrad (D-ND) proposing a seven-member, bipartisan Financial Markets Commission to investigate the financial market turmoil from last year. The commission would be modeled in structure to the 9-11 Commission. “When Enron and WorldCom failed at the start of this decade, Congress rushed to legislate and regulate without all the facts,” Isakson said in the news release. “We need to make sure we don’t repeat that reaction as we seek to recover from today’s financial crisis.” Isakson has also been stumping for his proposed expansion of a homebuyer tax credit passed in 2008. His bill, S. 253, would repeal the $7,500 tax credit passed last year and replace it with a tax credit that will go from $10,000 to $22,000 depending on a set formula. Requirement that the tax 

In a mostly symbolic move, the House Wednesday passed House Financial Service Committee Chairman Barney Frank’s (D-Mass.) proposed legislation to impose additional conditions on the release of the remaining $350 billion of Treasury’s TARP funds. The Senate voted last week to release the funds, so it is unlikely to consider the additional legislation. There are provisions in the legislation that would be of benefit to member banks, such as

We’ve all heard the debate and concern about whether banks are lending. There’s plenty of rhetoric to go around, and our stance has been that the economy dictates banks scrutinize loan requests a lot more closely than in recent years. And, we’ve also been working to help people understand that banks don’t lend capital, they lend deposits. The government’s decision to invest capital in banks has led to an unfortunate misunderstanding and unrealistic expectations about that among the general public and among some policymakers.

As we all continue to help our customers understand the economic environment, we know member banks are continually being called on to be accountable for how they’re supporting businesses and consumers in their communities. If you’re not clearly telling your story right now, it’s a good bet that someone else out there who doesn’t have all the details will try to tell it for you. So we think it is critical for YOU to take the offensive and be clear about your bank, your bank’s stability and your continued

GBA Strategic Partner Financial Marketing Solutions offers up an insightful piece this week about making sure we all keep customer needs in mind when making strategic business decisions during tough times. “We are all well aware of the dramatic nature of the current economic crisis. However, through what perspective are you seeing the economic crisis,” asks FMS President Tim Pannell. “Are you seeing it primarily as a banker, thinking of how you will have to cut non-interest expenses to meet certain profitability goals?

Twenty nine bankers took advantage of early registration and have enrolled in the 2009 Georgia Banking School's freshman class in Athens. We’ve set enrollment records in each of the past five years, and another sellout of 70 bankers is expected.

The Financial Risk Management Conference is scheduled for next Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 28-29, at the Cobb Galleria in Atlanta.

Just a reminder that GBA will offer the following webinars the week of Jan. 26:

• RESPA Revisions: Review & Impact Analysis– Jan. 26

• Safe Deposit Disaster/Liability– Jan. 27

• What's New and Important in the Compliance and Legal World? An Update– Jan. 29

• Frontline Deposit Compliance, Pt. 1: Required Disclosures at Account Opening– Jan. 29

• Loan Documentation 101, Part 2: Lien Perfection: Getting it Right– Jan. 30

All webinars are live and allow time for questions and answers. The $250 registration fee gives you access to one web site “seat,” one telephone site license and all handout materials. If you can’t attend the webinar, you may buy the audio CD, handout materials and a password to see the information online. With questions, please call GBA’s Courtenay Pope at 404.420.2015.

The following instructor-led AIB online classes begin the week of Feb. 16. Please register two weeks in advance to secure a seat in the class. 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.)

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

• Fundamentals of Consumer Lending, 5 weeks, $250

• Marketing Financial Services, 16 weeks, $405

• Money & Banking, 16 weeks, $405

• Principles of Banking Accelerated, 10 weeks, $335

• Supervisor Certificate, 16 weeks, $695

• Today's Teller: Developing Basic Skills* (open enrollment), 8 weeks, $315

There is still availability in the following AIB Online classes beginning Feb. 9. Please register as soon as possible to secure a seat in the class.

• Analyzing Financial Statements*, 16 weeks, $485

• Financial Accounting*, 16 weeks, $485

• Law & Banking:  Principles, 16 weeks, $455

• Managing Funding, Liquidity, and Capital, 6 weeks, $595

• Principles of Banking, 16 weeks, $405

• Trust Basics, 16 weeks, $405

Please see the AIB Online Course Schedule for a complete listing or call GBA’s Alison Moreau at 404.420.2034 with questions.

AIB Analyzing Financial Statements will be offered again beginning Jan. 27 for 10 weeks. This class will be taught by Peter Faser of Security Bank at Georgian Bank, Atlanta. Class will meet every Tuesday from 6-9 p.m., ending March 24.

There’s still time to register for GBA’s Employee Investigations seminar scheduled for Monday, Jan. 27, at Idle Hour Country Club in Macon. The registration fee for each workshop is $225 per person. Amos Welch, CFE, CPP, Vice President, Regional Manager of Corporate Investigations at

We still have openings for GBA’s Bankruptcy, Garnishments, Liens and Levies seminar scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 4, at the Idle Hour Country Club in Macon. The registration fee is $225 per person and the instructor is Gary Moser with Moser, Rose & Cox, Valdosta. Designed for collection officers, compliance

There’s still time to register for GBA’s Construction Lending seminar scheduled for Feb. 5 at the Idle Hour Country Club in Macon. The registration fee for this workshop is $225 per person. Designed for construction lenders, credit analysts, loan review and administration personnel, this one-day seminar is designed

GBA’s annual IRA Basics seminar is coming ups soon. There are two dates and locations available for this one-day seminar: Feb. 11 at the Holiday Inn Lanier Centre in Gainesville and Feb. 12 at Idle Hour Country Club in Macon. Designed for new account representatives, certificate of deposit personnel and any officer/manager who oversees the IRA department, the seminar will be led by Patrice Konarik with Sunwest Training Corp. in Gilchrist, TX.

If you are an Information Security Officer and want to make sure you have the best tools for your job, plan on attending GBA’s Effective Information Security Management seminar Feb. 18 at the Idle Hour Country Club in Macon. The registration fee for this workshop is $225 and the instructors are Kimberly Tallant with Gladiator Technology Group, Alpharetta, and Jamie Davis with Safe Systems, Inc., Alpharetta.

Our thanks to the Office of the General Counsel of the American Bankers Association for making available the newest edition of the Status of Important Banking Cases to the members of our Bank Counsel Section.

Community and mid-sized banks traditionally have operated under two basic credit rating systems: regulatory CAMELS ratings and rating scores issued by independent rating firms that use only banks’ regulatory filings. Banks have not had the opportunity to obtain an interactive credit rating from a full-service rating agency, most of which cater to the larger global and national banks. Banks in Georgia can now obtain interactive credit ratings from nationally recognized rating agency A.M. Best. The company has worked with GBA to provide the first year of the service at no initial charge for GBA members. GBA doesn’t specifically endorse any non-regulatory rating or Associate Members' specific products, but we believe this special offer is an

GBA Strategic Partner Deluxe Financial Services works closely with financial institutions to develop unique experiences that attract and retain customers and grow business. As one of the top check producers in North America, Deluxe combines its history of strong brands and financial institution relationships with its insights into small business. More than just a check printer, Deluxe offers programs that can add to your bank's profitability and maximize customer satisfaction:

• Deluxe Welcome Home Tool Kit (start-to-finish branch package focusing on the first 90 days of the relationship)

• DeluxeCard Visa Gift Card

• Deluxe Experience Inquiry (improve customer experience and drive new revenue)

• Deluxe Detect (account screening to combat fraud and risk).

Deluxe Financial Services works closely with financial institutions to develop unique experiences that attract and retain customers and grow business. For more information, please call Deluxe’s Beatriz Lucki at 305.285.9212, or GBA’s Levi Crabtree at 404.420.2022.

Established in 1976 by Chairman William H. Strunk, GBA Strategic Partner Strunk and Associates, L.P., is a financial institution advisory service recognized nationally for its innovative design, development, and implementation of sustainable profit improvement solutions, most notably the Strunk “Overdraft Privilege Program,” for the financial services industry. The firm’s reputation is built on more than 30 years of providing expert and objective advisory services to thousands of financial institutions and has received the

Make Money, Save Money With GBA Services, Inc. Offerings

Please remember to include the Georgia Bankers Association on the list of recipients for announcements about promotions, new employees and special recognition your bank has received. 

Atlanta - The Buckhead Community Bank
Marvin Cosgray, CEO, recently appeared live on CNN Newsroom to address concerns about the current banking environment and housing. If you caught Marvin's two interviews, you saw him do a great job telling the story of how banks are continuing to serve the needs of customers, how deposit insurance provides more protection than ever, and that banks are still lending money. Good job, Marvin.

Brunswick - Bank of America
Tara T. Stephens has been named Market President.

Canton - Bank of Ellijay
Congratulations to John Maggard who was named the 2007-2008 James A. Faulkner Lender of the Year  by the Economic Development Corporation for his assistance to small businesses throughout the area.

Madison - SunTrust
Our sympathies to the family, friends and colleagues of Eldred Paschal Hudson, Sr. who died recently. Mr. Hudson retired from the First National Bank of Madison in 1986 and had been quite active with the Georgia Bankers Association serving twice as Group 10 chairman and on the GBA Insurance Trust Board of Trustees.

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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