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Have You Contributed to NYSIBPAC This Year?
If not...now is the time! We need your help in this statewide election year to support candidates and committees who understand community banks' needs. Can we count on you?
CLICK HERE for our 2016 PAC contribution form. Help support IBANYS' political action efforts in New York State.
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For more information, visit:
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A Note From Our President:
This afternoon, Governor Cuomo is delivering to the State Legislature and other top state officials his
 combined 2016 State of the State Address and 2016-17 State Budget Presentation. This newsletter does not include information about the Governor's remarks, as there is not time to thoroughly review and analyze its impact -- especially as it relates to community banks -- before we "go to press".
However, stay tuned!
We will issue a special edition IBANYS' e-newsletter tomorrow (Thursday, January 14) providing full coverage, as well as other legislative and regulatory news. We will also be holding a conference call of our IBANYS Government Relations Committee Friday morning, January 15 at 9:00 a.m.
Meanwhile, please enjoy today's "regularly scheduled" IBANYS e-newsletter. It features important news about upcoming IBANYS meetings and programs, industry activities and developments and other timely updates impacting our New York community banking industry and the communities we serve.
IBANYS is pleased to welcome our newest associate member: Volume Creative, Inc.
This highly specialized branding, web design/ development and local search optimization company focuses on user experience and storytelling, with a strong understanding millennial market. For more information, contact President Charles Graham at (845) 202-2206, [email protected].
Or, visit their website at
www.volum8.com
Mark Your Calendars For
IBANYS' 2016 Meetings
IBANYS will have a full menu of outstanding educational meetings (see examples below) this year, highlighted by our major conferences and seminars. Those include our Annual Convention September 28-30, our CFO/Senior Management Conference May 9-11 at th
e Harbor Hotel in Watkins Glen, and our Regional Conferences for community banks' Directors as well as your Compliance, Security, Human Resources and Lending Officers. Our programs, which provide CPE credits, also offer our member banks unique networking opportunities. . . and afford our preferred providers, partners and associate members valuable sponsorship & exhibiting opportunities.
In fact, we are already off and running! This week, we held our downstate regional compliance conference on Long Island. Next week's newsletter will feature coverage of this meeting, held at Empire National Bank and graciously hosted by IBANYS' Vice Chairman and Empire President & CEO Doug Manditch.
Here's a preview of some upcoming IBANYS programs -- we hope you'll participate!
Don't Miss IBANYS' March 30-31 Upstate Regional Compliance Conferences
IBANYS 2016 Spring Upstate Regional Compliance Conferences will take place March 30 and 31 in Western New York and the Capital District. The format will include expanded presentations by federal and state banking regulators, topical presentations by outside consultants and a bankers peer panel discussion. Segments will focus on such "hot button" issues and concerns as cyber security and risk management, CRA/fair lending/community development loans, flood insurance, HMDA, BSA/ AML and complaint management, including portal systems.
Prepare Your Bank For The Future At
IBANYS' CFO/Senior Management Conference
IBANYS CFO Peer Group, chaired by Cathy Califano (Gold Coast Bank), helped design our 2016 CFO/ Senior Management Conference set for
May 9-11 at the Harbour Hotel in Watkins Glen, NY. We will focus on important operational, financial and regulatory challenges facing New York community banks, including:
- An Economic Update
- A Tax & Accounting Update
- A Regulatory Update
- A Cyber Security/IT Discussion
- A Discussion Of The New FDIC Compliance Manual
- Updates On Interest Rates & Investment Portfolio Management
- Best Practices Updates On Compensation & Employee Benefits
- A Discussion Of The New FASB CECL Model
- Presentations & Discussions On Trends In Banking
The format will incorporate panel discussions, extended q. and a. and stand alone presentations. Stay tuned for details and registration information!
Watch for IBANYS' full 2016 Meeting Calendar...coming soon.
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS UPDATES
As noted above, this afternoon, Gov. Cuomo delivered his 2016 State of the State Address and presented his proposed 2016-17 State Budget. Tomorrow, our special e-newsletter will provide updates on his presentation, including any impact on community banks.
Legislative Leadership For 2016
The State Legislature is back in session, with the following individuals serving in key leadership positions: Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (R-Long Island); Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx); Senate IDC Leader Jeff Klein (IDC-Bronx); Senate Democratic Minority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins (D-Westchester); Assembly Republican Minority Leader Brian Kolb (R-Geneva); Senate Banks Chair Diane Savino (IDC-Brooklyn/Queens); Assembly Banks Chair Annette Robinson (D-Brooklyn);
Senate Finance Committee Chair Cathy Young (R-Western NY) and Assembly Ways & Means Chair Herman "Denny" Farrell.
IN WASHINGTON:
Community Banks, Large Banks Disagree
On FDIC's DIF Premium Plan
The financial industry is divided over the FDIC plan proposed last October to require big banks to temporarily pay more in deposit insurance premiums. Small banks, through ICBA, are urging bigger payments over a shorter time frame, but many large banks would prefer to stretch  it out.
The FDIC plan would impose a premium surcharge on large banks for two years, but community bankers want that time frame cut in half.
At issue: A Dodd-Frank provision requiring the FDIC to increase the Deposit Insurance Fund's (DIF's) ratio of reserves to insured deposits to 1.35% by 2020, while ensuring big banks bear the brunt of reaching that level once the fund reaches 1.15%. The FDIC plan would reach the 1.35% target much sooner (in roughly two years). B
anks with more than $10 billion of assets would face a 4.5-basis-point annual surcharge on assessment fees, perhaps as soon as this quarter. Smaller banks would receive a reimbursement credit for their premiums once the fund reaches 1.4%.
ICBA wants big banks to pay the surcharge over a one-year period, so community banks would get their assessment credits back faster, noting:
"Besides the fact that the DIF would reach a stronger funding position more rapidly, small banks would have fewer credits to deal with and could take advantage of the credits much sooner. Assuming the surcharge commenced during the second quarter of 2016 and the DIF reserve ratio of 1.4% was reached soon after the end of the surcharge, under our alternative, community banks could start using their credits as early as the fourth quarter of 2017." Those representing
large banks are calling for the exact opposite.
FASB To Meet With Community Banks On CECL
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has agreed to meet on
Feb. 4
with a delegation of community bank leaders, as well as auditors and regulators. A FASB spokeswoman said plans for a meeting have been in the works since December, and that other details are still being finalized. The  ICBA is in the process of selecting bank executives to attend the meeting. "FASB continues to maintain a lack of understanding for the way community banks manage customer relationships and originate loans in their communities," ICBA President Camden Fine wrote in a letter to FASB criticizing the plan to change the accounting treatment for loan-loss provisions. ICBA believes a plan to change the accounting for loan losses will result in major hardship for smaller banks. Fine's letter also noted: "A meeting of the full board and only the full board to hear directly from community bankers is now crucial for board members to fully comprehend the failure of CECL as it is currently proposed." ICBA has described the proposed standard as "the biggest accounting change we will see in our lifetimes," adding that it would prove disastrous for smaller financial institutions. CECL would be a major departure from current accounting, which lets banks add to reserves only after losses become probable. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, the FASB concluded that such an approach was reactive.
Victory For Community Banks At FHA
Community banks scored a victory yesterday
when the Federal Housing Finance Agency rescinded an ICBA-opposed plan requiring Federal Home Loan Bank members to meet an ongoing asset test. The plan would have required FHLBank members to hold between 1% and 10% of their assets in home mortgage loans at all times. ICBA remains concerned over a provision that bars captive insurance companies from FHLB membership, which could increase the cost of some FHLB advances.
- The regional Federal Reserve Banks paid a record $97.7 billion in profits to the U.S. Treasury in 2015, topping the previous high of $96.9 billion they paid in 2014. The Fed's balance sheet currently stands at about $4.5 trillion. Policymakers have suggested the portfolio will likely remain that large at least until next year.
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More than five million borrowers could qualify for, and benefit from, a mortgage refinance according to a new report from Black Knight Financial Services.
About 2.4 million borrowers could potentially save $200 or more on their monthly mortgage payments. An additional 1.9 million could save $100 to $200 per month. Rising home values have given borrowers more "tappable" home equity - that is, money they could take out in the form of a home equity line of credit. They are available at low rates, and are growing in popularity: Up 35% in 2015 from a year ago. Homeowners today have a collective $4.2 trillion in available home equity, up $600 billion over the last year.
Banks Can Control Health Care Costs,
Help Retain Employees
A Forbes article (November 23, 2015) on healthcare innovators on the success of TelaDoc demonstrates the company's outstanding performance to date, and likely growth in the future. The article notes: "Patients with a wide array of non-emergency medical conditions obtain the care they need -- from diagnosis to treatment to necessary prescriptions -- quickly, conveniently and affordably."
Click here to read the full article.
Here's a way to lower your health care costs, and offer a boost in employee benefits that could help retain employees. The "My Wellness Resource Card" offers a
low-cost, non-traditional program to save time and money, and allow your bank to  provide on demand health care from U.S. board-certified doctors. They'll provide diagnosis, treatment options and necessary prescriptions via unlimited telephone medical consultations. The program will provide discounts and significant savings on a variety of medical and dental products. Sponsored by My Wellness Resource, Inc. and IBANYS, this program is designed to improve productivity, decrease absenteeism and boost morale without straining your bottom line. It's a way to provide health care benefits, reduce cost and retain employees.
Top Issues For Banks In 2016?
Regulation, cyber-risk and innovation will be the top three issues facing the banking sector in the coming year, according to a report from Deloitte. Deloitte Vice Chairman Kenny Smith said banks are increasingly using analytics to better serve customers and will likely continue partnering with financial technology (FinTech) firms instead of directly competing.
Fighting Prostate Cancer -- Join The Battle!
The Buffalo Bills Alumni Foundation and IBANYS have joined to lead the effort to raise funds and awareness regarding prostate cancer research in New York State. IBANYS' member bank Lake Shore
 Savings Bank is among the community banks strongly supporting the campaign: Its "Cure the Blue" ribbon pins are available for purchase for a donation at all eleven branches, and Lake Shore conducted a branch wide fundraising event earlier this fall. As Lake Shore's President & CEO Dan Reininga noted: "The exciting thing about this is that it's going to be a national campaign at some point. It's very exciting and we're very proud. It's what Lake Shore is all about - putting people first. Can YOUR bank or firm to join this effort?
IBANYS Webinars Provide
Bottom Line Value!
Community bankers are facing significant challenges. Bank officers, board members and employees know their responsibilities and potential liabilities are not about to diminish. Is YOUR bank doing everything possible to provide the type of information and tools necessary to prepare for the future?
IBANYS' webinars are specifically designed to meet the needs of community banks. They are effective -- and, cost-effective. Your officers, directors and employees are able to participate directly from their offices.
There's a reason
why your industry and association peers are signing up in growing numbers...and why participation in IBANYS webinars has expanded dramatically over the past eighteen months.
Review
all
our upcoming
programs by clicking the link below:
https://ibanys.fed.financialedinc.com/store/webinar
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IBANYS SPOTLIGHTS:
The Kafafian Group
The Kafafian Group (
TKG) is a finance, strategy, and operations consulting firm that specializes in Performance Measurement, Profitability Outsourcing, Strategic and Business Planning, Regulatory Assistance, Profit/Process Improvement, and Investment Banking Advisory Services for the Financial Industry. Over the past 30 years, they have worked with over 400 financial institutions in over 40 states ranging in asset size from $16 million to over $100 billion. Today, they are a team of seasoned industry professionals dedicated to helping banks perform better by delivering meaningful management information and analysis, helping identify operating efficiencies, evaluating strategic alternatives, offering a wide-range of advisory services, helping clients develop winning strategies, and providing the information necessary to make informed decisions.
For more information, contact Bob Kafafian at
(973) 299-0300, [email protected], or visit the website at
http://kafafiangroup.com
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DID YOU KNOW. . .
That many of the issues in New York State politics today are similar to those addressed by New York's first Governor George Clinton in the first State of the State in 1777? Similar as well to those addressed by Gov. Theodore Roosevelt in his "Annual Message," as it was known in 1899. Roosevelt warned:
"No other question is of such permanent importance in the domestic economy of our State as the question of taxation. At present our system of taxation is in utter confusion, full of injustices and of queer anomalies."
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| New York community banks play a key role in our state and local economies. Help spread the good news among your customers, business and elected leaders and media! |
| Click here for quotes from Governor Cuomo and DFS Superintendent Lawsky extolling the performance and value of New York community banks. |
| Click here for the full NYS Study on community banking. |
| Click here to read IBANYS President & CEO John Witkowski's comments on the new tax changes and benefits for New York community banks as approved in the 2014-15 State Budget. Click here for IBANYS' letter to the Editor of Consumer Reports Magazine correcting failure to mention community banks as an alternative to using "big banks." _________________________________ |
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John J. Witkowski
President and Chief Executive Officer
Stephen W. Rice
Director of Government Relations and Communications
Linda Gregware
Director of Administration and Membership Services
William Y. Crowell, III
Legislative Counsel
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