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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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From The President's Desk. . .
Dear Community Banking Colleagues:
2016 is off to a great start at IBANYS. We've already held our Downstate Regional Compliance Seminar on Long Island, and relaunched our government
 relations effort with a conference call on federal and state issues and priorities.
We've also built on the suggestions and recommendations of our Compliance Peer Group and are planning our March 30-31 Upstate
Regional Compliance Seminars for Western New York and the Capital District.
There are several important dates and events I'd like to bring to your attention to as we move forward. IBANYS has three major events scheduled for 2016.
-
We're building a strong program for our
CFO/Senior Management Conference May
 9-11 at the beautiful Harbor Hotel in Watkins Glen, New York. Gary Keith, Chief Economist with M&T Bank, will be our keynote speaker and will provide his
State of the Economy in New York State
.
- We will hold our Second Annual Lending Conference at the Woodcliff Hotel & Spa in Fairport, New York near Rochester. We'll review and discuss all aspects of the lending process. These will include loan review, risk, sales, portfolio management and the impact of CECL.
- In late September, we will hold our 42nd Annual Convention -- our premier educational meeting and business show of the year. We will have a number of top notch
 speakers and presenters on hand. Jack Hubbard, Chief Experience Officer at St. Meyer and Hubbard, is an author, lecturer and instructor whose expertise and out-of-the-box thinking focuses on sales and sales management in business and commercial banking. He will address Driving Performance in Today's Banking Environment. We'll also have the highly respected political analyst and commentator Steve Greenberg of Greenberg PR, who will examine and analyze the impact of political and electoral trends in New York  State. November will see the election of the entire New York State Legislature, with an anticipated close contest for control of the State Senate, and the entire New York Congressional Delegation. The Convention has also traditionally been our major fundraising event for our state political action committee, NYSIBPAC.
- I also want to remind you of two important 2016 meetings scheduled by ICBA: Their Annual Convention in New Orleans, March 6-10, and the Washington Policy Summit in late April, where IBANYS members will meet "on the hill" with Members of the New York Congressional Delegation. We hope you'll attend both these important events -- it would be great to have a strong New York presence. More details will follow soon.
I hope you'll mark your calendars accordingly, and plan to participate in these important events.
All of our 2016 events are listed on our website (www.ibanys.net, under Education/Upcoming Meetings. They provide CPE credits, offer our member banks unique networking opportunities. . . and afford our preferred providers, partners and associate members valuable sponsorship & exhibiting opportunities. Take a look at some of our upcoming events below. We'll have much more information for you in the coming weeks.
Don't Miss IBANYS' March 30-31 Upstate Regional Compliance Conferences
IBANYS 2016 Spring Upstate Regional Compliance Conferences are March 30 & 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. We'll address "hot button" issues and concerns like cyber security and risk management, CRA/fair lending/community development loans, flood insurance, HMDA, BSA/ AML and complaint management, including portal systems.
Are You Prepared For Future? Attend
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 Harbor Hotel in Watkins Glen, NY. We will focus on important operational, financial and regulatory challenges facing New York community banks, including:
- An Economic Update from Gary Keith, Chief Economist with M&T Bank
- 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!
All IBANYS 2016 Meetings Are Listed
On Our Website
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS UPDATES
- The State Senate Judiciary Committee today is expected to consider Governor Cuomo's nomination of Judge Janet DiFiore to serve as Chief Judge of the State Court of Appeals, the state's highest court. She is a former chair of the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, and would succeed former Chief Judge Lippman, who retired last December 31.
IN WASHINGTON
- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is accepting applications for membership on the Community Bank Advisory Council and Consumer Advisory Board. They allow the CFPB to hear directly from community banks and provide the bureau with information on emerging trends and practices in the consumer financial products and services industries. Complete applications are due by February 29. Visit www.consumerfinance.gov and click on the link to"Accepting applications for our Advisory Board and Councils"
Community Banks Outperforming Largest Banks Post-Financial Crisis
A new study by The Brookings Institution examined the evolution of community banks before, through, and after the financial crisis to assess their recovery. It stated: "...despite concerns about the long-term survival of community banks due to a
 decline in the number of banks and increased Dodd-Frank regulations, they continue to recover from the financial crisis and are in fact out-performing the Big Four banks in several key measures.
Although the number of community banks has been steadily declining since before 2003, most of the decline has come from the steep drop in the smallest banking organizations-those with total consolidated assets of less than $100 million. Community banks with total consolidated assets that exceed $300 million have in fact increased in number. Most of the decline in community banks can be attributed to the lack of entry into commercial banking."
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.
Click here
and
here
to learn more about this exciting new alternative, or visit
www.ibanys.net
for details/to enroll.
Who's Gaining Market Share In
Mortgage Business?
Are big banks lending less to homebuyers, or making less on loans? A recent report indicates that sometimes, it's a combination of both.
Some are  making less on home loans, in part due to the Fed's long zero interest rate policy. However, the trend also coincides with a rise in nonbank lenders that have been aggressive in gaining market share in mortgages in recent years. Quicken Loans has increased its footprint to cover more than $200 billion worth of home loans since 2013. i The private lender does not release quarterly data. In 2008, Quicken had $12 billion and was generating less than one percent of the mortgage market share, according to Inside Mortgage Finance.
Quicken is part of a group of lenders, many of them online only, that have substantially grown their footprint in the mortgage lending business since the financial crisis.
FDIC's Free Deposit Insurance Seminars
The FDIC will conduct six identical live seminars on FDIC deposit insurance coverage for your bank's
 employees and bank officers during 2016. The free seminars will be between Feb. 23 and Dec. 5 through
Microsoft Office Live Meeting. For details:
www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2016/fil1600
6.html.
The agency also announced three separate self-study seminars on other deposit insurance issues are available on its YouTube channel.
The Latest Snapshots. . .
- U.S. housing starts and permits fell in December after hefty gains in November. The U.S. Commerce Department said this morning that groundbreaking dropped 2.5% to a
 seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.15 million units. November's starts were revised to a 1.8 million-unit rate from the previously reported 1.17 million-unit pace. Building permits fell 3.9% a 1.23 million-unit rate last month after two months of hefty gains. Permits for the construction of single-family homes rose 1.8% last month, while multi-family building permits tumbled 11.4%.
- In the absence of federal action, more than a dozen states raised their minimum wages this month. More than half of the states currently have minimums above the $7.25 per hour federal level. In effect, state
 legislation has kept hourly wages closer to cost-of-living increases since the 1960s and '70s, while federal rates have lagged. What's the impact? Some studies, especially those that measure low-wage employment in narrower geographical areas across state borders, have suggested differences between state wage floors may actually lower the number of unfilled positions, reduce wages for higher earners or raise prices. Other recent national studies have found unemployment increases of several percentage points linked to higher state minimum wages, but economists argue about how best to control for other factors.
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:
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Bank Assetpoint®
,
Insured Cash Sweep®, or ICS®
,
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,
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DID YOU KNOW. . .
That w
hen the federal minimum wage first became law in 1938 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt
, it was 25 cents an hour? Adjusted for inflation, that would be worth $4.13 today. Since 1938, the federal minimum wage has been raised 22 times by 12 different presidents.
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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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