IBANYS' Regional Compliance Seminars today (Wednesday, March 25 in Rochester) and tomorrow (Thursday, March 26 in Albany) were designed with IBANYS Compliance Peer group to address compliance issues, concerns and needs of New York's community banks. Speakers from the FDIC, OCC, Continuity Control and the law firm of Hinman, Howard & Kattell will discuss issues impacting community banks, and provide regulatory, cyber security, operational, the bank's compliance culture, legal update on the Bank Secrecy Act and bankers' perspectives on today's compliance environment.

• Click here for updated program details, and to register. S ee next week's newsletter for full coverage of these important sessions.

 

April 23, Castleton Comfort Inn Suites (Albany) 

CFO/Senior Management Conference 

May 6-8, Woodcliff Hotel/Spa Fairport (Rochester)

June 2-3, Harbor Hotel, Watkins Glen

 

2015 Annual Convention

September 16-18, Hotel Thayer, West Point

 

Regional Directors Conferences 

October 21, Holiday Inn Rochester Airport

October 22, Castleton Comfort Inn Suites (Albany)  

A LSO, Please Join Us At:

ICBA's Washington Policy Summit

April 28 - 30, Marriott Marquis (Washington, D.C.)

Visit www.icba.org to register

A complete list of IBANYS' 2015 Meetings may be found on our website. Visit www.ibanys.net, click on the education tab, then on Upcoming Meetings.

IBANYS Security Conferences:  

Focus Cyber Security, Key Challenges

IBANYS' Regional Security Seminars will be held in Binghamton April 22, and in the Capital District April 23. The program will focus on timely issues and challenges facing New York community banks, including cyber-security, emerging trends and threats for 2015 and beyond. State Department of Financial Services (DFS) Superintendent Lawsky calls cyber security the most important issue the Department faces. DFS is preparing to include the issue in future state regulatory exams, and will also focus on third party involvement. Speakers will include:

• Tracy Hall, IT Assurance Manager with Wolf & Company, on "Taking Your Business Continuity Program To The Next Level"; 
• Sanjin "Sonny" Handran, IT Assurance Manager, Wolf & Company, on "Cybersecurity -- Are You Ready For What's Next?"; 
• Michael Weisberg and Deborah Snyder, Chief and Deputy Chief Information Security Officers, NYS Enterprise Information Security/Office of Information Technology Services. 
• A special agent from the Federal Bureau of Investigation with a "Cyber Overview Briefing and A Review Of The Current Threat Landscape For Community Banks". . . Stay tuned for more details.

If you are a Chief Financial Officer or member of your bank's senior management teams, IBANYS CFO/Senior Management Conference May 6-8 in Rochester is a "must attend" event. The program agenda was

developed with IBANYS' CFO Peer Group, and includes specific, targeted updates on important challenges community banks face in 2015 and beyond. We'll hear about major accounting and taxation issues and developments, the new state tax rules for community banks, economic conditions in New York State, a detailed analysis of the regulatory environment, and so much more. 

Speakers will include: 

• Jaison Abel, Federal Reserve Bank of New York; 
• Jana Bacon, Wolf & Company; 
• Greg Lederman, Brand Integrity ("Essential Habits To Being A More Trusted Leader"); 
• Gary Bronstein & Kevin Toomey, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton; 
• Robert Kafafian, The Kafafian Group; 
• Jamie Keiser & Paul Fries, The Bonadio Group; 
• Tom Settino of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York ("Ways to Maximize Housing and Community Economic Development"); 
• Terry Lehman & Joe LaClair, BDO ("You Got the Deal Done, Now How Does the Accounting Work on Day Two?"); 
• Tal Scheer, Crowe Horvath (on FASB and the Current Expected Credit Loss model); 
• James Kisch, Continuity Control; 
• Jeff Berry, First American Payment Systems; 
• Thomas Mecredy, Vining Sparks Community Bank Advisory Group; 
• Benjamin Mrva, Strategic Resource Management. 

We will focus on a number of important topics, including:

• Cybersecurity: What Executive Management Should Know
• Accounting & Tax Update For Community Banks
• Maximizing Housing & Community Development
• BSA/AML Update
• New York's Financial Performance & Market Overview
• Mergers & Acquisitions, Community Bank Valuation & Capital Markets Update 
• Practical Application of Purchase Accounting 
• Capital Stress Testing 
• The New GAAP Rules 
• EMV: Be The Resource Your Customers Need
• Economic Conditions In New York State
• NYS Tax Update: Understanding The New Rules
• Building A Compliance Score Card
• FASB's CECL Model For Impairment -- Demystifying The Proposed Standard 
• Managing Your Debit Card Environment In A Post-Durbin World
• Essential Habits For Being A More Trusted Leader
• Networking Luncheon, Receptions and Dinner
• Note: Golf will be offered at a new time this year, on Wednesday afternoon prior to our opening reception that evening. (It had been held during the conference in previous years.)

 Please note: Conference Attendees can earn 9.5 CPE credits as well (2.0 in taxation).

Click here for program details. 

Click here for sponsorship opportunities.

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

IBANYS is partnering with the Buffalo Bills Alumni Foundation in support of its "Cure the Blue" program to help create a statewide effort to bring awareness and support of prostate cancer research in New York State. Click here and also click here for the brochure with all the details on how you can join this important effort. Click here to learn about where your contributions would go toward, and how you can help. IBANYS President &

CEO John Witkowski recently stated: "Our support 

of the Buffalo Bills Alumni Foundation's 'Cure the Blue' program is something we are taking very seriously. An effort of this magnitude to address the issue of prostate cancer is long overdue."

 

Learn About  ICBA's New .BANK Agreement

ICBA has announced an agreement with EnCirca to use the registration process of .BANK for community banks. Institutions interested in learning more should plan to participate in ICBA's monthly webinars for community banks. Each webinar will be 45 minutes long, and cover important information relevant to .BANK'S launch timeline. IBANYS President John Witkowski sent information to IBANYS member bank CEOs this morning. For additional information and to register for the webinars, visit www.encirca.com/icba.

 

PIECES OF THE ECONOMIC PUZZLE

 

Latest On Housing, Mortgages & Consumer Prices

Meanwhile, The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that mortgage applications rose last week to the highest level since January, due to the lowest interest rates since February. Average interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less decreased to 3.90% from 3.99%.

Total volume rose 9.5% for the week ended March 20 from the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Refinancing applications were up 12% week to week, and 35% from a year ago. Applications for mortgages to purchase a home (an indicator of future home sales) were up 5% and are 3% above a year ago.

U.S. consumer prices rebounded in February, as gasoline prices rose for the first time since June. There were signs of an uptick in underlying inflation pressures, which analysts said could keep a June interest rate increase on the table. 

The U.S. Labor Department's Consumer Price Index was up 0.2% last month ending three straight months of declines. 

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS UPDATE

IN ALBANY. . .

With the April 1 deadline for approving the 2015-16 State Budget now just a week away, budget negotiations continue among the Governor and legislative leaders. The Governor still says he won't sign a budget bill unless legislative ethics reforms are passed. The Democratic Assembly leadership has agreed to a deal with the Governor, but GOP State Senate leadership has not. The

budget will likely grow from the $141.6 billion proposed by the Governor, but several of his policy proposals appear likely to be dropped from the spending plan. Negotiations continue on additional ethical disclosures and overhauling evaluation of public school teachers. Cuomo's plans to extend public tuition assistance to undocumented immigrants (the Dream Act) and a his proposed tax credit offsetting donations to private and parochial school scholarship funds as well as public schools are believed "highly likely" to fall out of talks. While Assembly Speaker Heastie wants a minimum wage hike, Senate Majority Leader Skelos said there hadn't been meaningful discussions of the issue.
 

New York's Tax Burden: Highest In Nation 

For Wealthy & Middle Class Residents

According to a new survey by WalletHub, New York State taxes wealthy residents more than any other state in the nation. Those earning $150,000 or more annually are paying approximately 12.4% in taxes. Middle class residents did not fare better: Those earning an average of $50,000 paid a similar 12.4% , also highest in the nation. The lowest? Alaska's 3.4% tax burden on wealthy residents. 

IN WASHINGTON, DC. . .

Community Banks Access To Capital Bill 

Introduced In House

Rep. Garrett (R-NJ) has introduced the "Community Bank Access To Capital Act of 2015." It includes several provisions of the ICBA's "Plan for Prosperity" (PFP), which IBANYS has endorsed. The legislation would exempt banks with assets under $50 billion from Basel III capital rules; increase the Small Bank Holding Company Policy Statement qualifying asset threshold, from $1 billion to $5 billion; exempt publicly held community banks with under $1 billion in assets from Sarbanes-Oxley's internal control attestation requirements; allow savings & loan holding companies to use the SEC's new deregistration and registration thresholds, and preserve current SEC rules regarding the definition of accredited investors.

In other federal news: 

• The House Financial Services Committee today was scheduled to mark up several bills inspired by the Plan for Prosperity regulatory relief program. The legislation would ease regulatory burdens related to the CFPB, privacy notices, rural designations, and mortgage servicing. IBANYS has endorsed all these provisions under the PFP. The industry, through ICBA, will also testify this week before a House Judiciary Committee on patent troll demand letters -- specifically, on how to improve transparency and the patent litigation environment.
• ICBA leadership met with Treasury Secretary Lew this week to discuss economic conditions and challenges facing community banks and expressed concern that excessive regulatory burden is harming consumers and stifling economic activity in communities. Topics discussed included the impact of CFPB regulations on mortgage lending; BASEL III capital rules (particularly regarding commercial real estate lending), and call report and examination burdens.

New York community bankers: Join IBANYS Chairman Chris Dowd (Ballston Spa National Bank) and Vice Chairman John Buhrmaster (1st National Bank of Scotia, Past Chairman, ICBA), President & CEO John Witkowski and your industry colleagues in Washington, D.C, for ICBA's Washington Policy Summit April 28-30. Community bankers can bring

Is Your Bank Participating In 

IBANYS' Webinars?