Your IBANYS Team: 
Working Together To Make 2016 A Great Year 
For New York C ommun ity Banks !
 
In This Issue

Quick Links

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.

Partner
March 16, 2016
NEWS FROM IBANYS
  
board conference   
IBANYS 2016 Meetings: 
Plan Your Calendars!

IBANYS' 2016 events may be viewed online
at www.ibanys.net under education/upcoming meetings. They provide CPE credits, and offer New York community banks the latest information and tools for profitability and success, feature unique networking opportunities  and afford our preferred providers, partners and associate members valuable sponsorship & exhibiting opportunities. 


 
Regional 
Compliance  Conferences 
IBANYS' Regional Compliance Conferences will be held on  March 30 and 31 in Rochester and Albany, respectively. Designed with input from our IBANYS Compliance Peer Group, these sessions bring together banking regulators, consultants and community bank compliance officers themselves to examine the "hot button" compliance issues and trends of 2016, and to discuss best practices and practical approaches and solutions.
 
Note: Unfortunately, we have been informed that the NYS Department of Financial Services is unable to send a representative to speak at our compliance sessions. IBANYS is seeking an alternative speaker to provide insights on the state regulatory perspective.  
 
Our speakers will include:
  • Deborah Hermann (NBE - NED Compliance Lead Expert, Northeast District, Syracuse Field Office, OCC)
  • Kevin Fitterer (Senior Examiner, Federal Reserve Bank)
  • Lisa Borio (Supervisory Examiner, New York Territory, FDIC)
  • Lon Coon (Senior Compliance Examiner, Syracuse Field Office, FDIC)
  • Gerald Gagne (CPA, CISA, Wolf & Company)
  • Banker Roundtable moderated by Stephen King (JD, AMLP, Wolf & Company)
The agenda will include:
  • Cyber security and risk management
  • CRA/fair lending/community development loans
  • Flood insurance
  • HMDA, BSA/AML
  • Complaint management, including portal systems
CLICK HERE to register.
 
 
 
IBANYS Regional Bank Directors Conferences
Can Provide The Answers 
Board members of New York community banks face growing challenges in the aftermath of the latest banking and financial crisis. As the number of community banks have declined nationally, the burdens imposed by federal and state regulations had increased. So too has the cost of doing business and serving our customers and communities. Now, with serious issues related to cyber security, pressure on earnings and the current interest rate environment, banks must ensure their directors, officers and senior management teams are fully informed and prepared to cope with these challenges with the tools and strategies they need to survive and thrive. IBANYS' Regional Directors Conferences will help them do so. Our sessions on April 13 and April 14  in Rochester & Castleton (Albany) will feature issues, trends and information for the board members of New York community banks. 
 
Our agenda will include: 
  • Shareholder Succession: Is This The Way Out Of Consolidation?
  • How Banks Should Make The Decision To Buy Or Share
  • Making Sense Of A Nonsensical World
  • CECL & The New Capital Impacts Facing Community Banks
  • Cyber Security: The Challenge Of IT Governance
  • Strategic Planning: It All Begins & Ends 
  • A Question & Answer Session
Our Speakers Include:
  • T.W. Shannon (Managing Director, Premier Consulting Partners)
  • Heather Archer Eastep (Partner, Hunton & Williams)
  • Michael Jameson (Principal, Jameson Associates)
  • Randy Rabe (Director, Credit Risk Management)
  • Jordan Pike (Director of Security, ncino)
  • Karl Nelson (Founder & CEO, KPN Consulting)
 
 


CFO/Senior  Management Conference  
IBANYS Annual CFO/Sr. Management Conference will be held May 9-11 at the Harbor Hotel, Watkins Glen.   This conference was developed with the input from IBANYS' CFO Peer Group and reflects the key topics, issues and challenges important to our industry.  Chief Executive Officers, Chief Financial Officers, Chief Operating Officers, Presidents, and Senior Managers, Bank Directors and ALCO teams should attend this event. Our program was designed to help CFOs and Sr. Management gauge the potential impact of higher interest rates, prepare for the final guidance on the FASB's current expected credit loss model, change the culture surrounding enterprise risk management and gain insights on how to approach key strategic issues including cyber security, credit stress testing, and succession planning. Participants will be eligible to earn up to 11 CPE hours (1.0 in taxation). 

This conference also provides an opportunity for members to golf, and to network during breakfast, lunch, cocktail receptions and dinners -- including a reception/dinner cruise on Seneca Lake. It also offers an opportunity for your company to sponsor an event, and to be recognized throughout the event. The brochure linked below provides sponsorship opportunities, and f ull details on the entire event. 
 
Please note : A block of rooms have been reserved at the Harbor Hotel Watkins Glen.  Reservations can be made by contacting the Harbor Hotel Watkins Glen directly at (607) 535-6116. Refer to group: Independent Bankers Association of NYS: CFO/Sr. Management Conference.  Room cut-off:  April 15.  (We cannot guarantee room availability and pricing after this date.)  Single/Double rate: $159 ++village view/$179++ lake view.  We strongly recommend you make your hotel reservations early. Rooms will sell out; we cannot guarantee availability and pricing after this date. Please also note c ancellations must be made 7 days prior to day of arrival. 

The Program Will Feature: 
  • Monday Evening Dinner Keynote Address by John Edelen, SVP & Chief Risk Officer, Federal Home Loan Bank of New York
  • Economic & Capital Markets Update, by Gary Keith, Chief Economist with M&T Bank
  • Deposit Analysis: Crucial Element In Understanding Your IRR Problem, by Al Forrester, CEO, FICAST Data Corp.
  • Succession Planning: Developing The Next Generation Of Community Banking Leaders, by Flynt Gallagher, President, Compensation Advisors 
  • Revenue Enhancement: It's Not What You Think, by Lawrence Pruss, SVP & Revenue Expert, Strategic Resource Management (SRM)
  • Historical Tax Credit Deal-Is This Something Our Bank Should Invest In? by Roger Upton, MS Consultants
  • Credit Stress Testing: What Examiners Expect, and Steps To Deliver, by Shawn O'Brien, President, Qwickrate 
  • The New ALLL: A CECL Primer For CFOs, by Peter Brown, Senior Consultant, Sageworks
  • Managing Your Investment Process: Best Practices For Assuring Consistency & Success, by Greg Roll, Senior Vice President, Investment Strategies, Vining Sparks
  • Public Funds: Enhancing Your Deposit Business In 2016, by Joe Hooker, Managing Director & Kevin Hamilton, Regional Director, Promontory Interfinancial Network
  • Bank Cybersecurity: State Of The Threat Landscape, by Alex Hernandez, Vice President, Customer Solutions, Praesidio
  • Strategies for Successful Partnership Between Internal Audit, ERM and the Business -- How To Maximize The Value From Your Risk Functions, by Larry Hessney, CIA, CISA, PCI, QSA, Director-Risk 7 Technology Consulting Servixes, Freed Maxick
  • We'll also have numerous networking opportunities, refreshment breaks, breakfasts, lunches and dinners.
 
Click HERE for sponsorship opportunities.
 

 
IBANYS' Second Annual  Lending Conference
Join us June 28-29 at the Woodcliff Hotel & Spa in Fa irport  (Rochester) for our Second Annual Lending Conference, which is co-sponsored by T.Gschwender & Associates. Who should attend? Loan Officers, Mortgage Officers, Consumer Lending Officers, Commercial Lending Officers, Credit Officers, CFOs and other members of the bank's management team involved in there credit and lending process. The program  will review all aspects of the lending process, with presentations and discussions on loan review, risk, sales, portfolio management and the impact of CECL. 

Presentations will include: 
  • Outlook for Credit & Bank Profitability
    , with Chris Nichols, Chief Strategy Officer, CenterState Bank
  • Credit Stress Testing: What Examiners Expect, and Steps To Deliver, with Shawn O'Brien, President, QwickRate
  • The New ALLL -- A CECL Primer For Lenders, with Emily Bogan, Senior Risk Management Consultant, Sageworks
  •  The Loan Portfolio Dilemma: Funding Fixed Rate Products, with a representative from the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York
  • Bank Asset Point: Connecting Buyers & Sellers In The Banking World, with a representative from Promontory Interfinancial Network
  • The Role Of Risk Tolerance and Risk Culture In Managing Portfolio Credit Risk, with David Ruffin, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Credit Risk Management Analytics
  • Friend Or Foe: The Rise Of Peer lenders & What It Means For Banks, with Jonathan Rowe, PhD, Director of Marketing, nCino
  • Managing Credit Risk, with Sharper "Bo" Singh, President & Owner, T.Gschwender & Associates
  • The Loan Participation Puzzle: The Key To Diversification, with Lori Betting, Executive Vice President, Alliance Partners
  • Navigating The Headwinds Of Change: Lessons Learned From The Great Recession, with Karl Nelson, Founder & CEO, KPN Consulting
Watch for additional updates on speakers, further details on program agenda and registration information.
 
 
IBANYS Annual Convention: Oct. 3-5, 
The Turning Stone
Our 42nd Annual Convention -- our premier educational meeting and business show of the year -- will be held at The Turning Stone October 3-5. We'll have a full menu of top notch speakers and presenters, including Steve Greenberg, a veteran political analyst and commentator who will preview the critically important 2016 election for community banks. With every member of the New York State Legislature and New York Congressional Delegation up for election, and control of the State Senate expected to be hotly contested, This will be a timely and critical presentation.

We'll also hear from keynote speaker Ray O'Conor. Ray is the former President of Saratoga National Bank & Trust and a former Chairman of IBANYS. He is the author of She Called Him Raymond: A True Story of Love, Loss, Faith and Healing, which is a candidate for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction. Ray has also been weekly  newspaper  columnist, Special Agent with the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Border Patrol Agent. His presentation will share the story behind his book, and provide a look into the true tale of two ordinary people who led extraordinary lives during the most tumultuous of times.
Plus, we'll also hold our business show, silent PAC auction and much more! Watch for program details and sponsorship opportunities.

Join Us In Washington D.C.
IBANYS members will be in Washington, D.C. for ICBA's  Washington Policy Summit April 24-27. IBANYS members will meet with Members of our New York Congressional Delegation. The program will include top speakers from Congress and the regulatory agencies. IBANYS will be scheduling meetings with members of our New York Congressional Delegation in their offices "on the hill" to advocate for priorities and positions important to community banks. These include regulatory relief through ICBA's "Plan for Prosperity" platform which IBANYS supports. We'll also be urging reforming the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and its mortgage regulations, opposing costly new accounting standards, and urging the end of the credit union industry's federal tax subsidy and the abolition of the Farm Credit System. Please join us for this important event. Email Steve Rice ([email protected]) to participate! 
 
Are You Taking Advantage Of These Initiatives?
Last year IBANYS introduced two exciting new initiatives to benefit member banks, We encourage you to take full advantage of them. 
  • The "My Wellness Resource Card" offers a low-cost, non-traditional program to help community banks to save time and money. It helps provide on demand health care from U.S. board-certified doctors who provide diagnosis, treatment options and necessary prescriptions via unlimited telephone medical consultations. The My Wellness program offers discounts and significant savings on a variety of medical and dental products, and is designed to improve productivity, decrease absenteeism and boost morale without straining your bottom line. It's an exciting new way for community banks to provide health care benefits, reduce cost and retain employees. For more information, contact Alan Justin, Managing Partner at (716) 907-5500. 
  • We also joined the "Cure the Blue" effort to raise funds and awareness regarding prostate cancer in New York State. We are partnering with the Buffalo Bills Alumni Foundation, and hope to see a number of IBANYS members participate. Please join us in supporting this worthwhile cause. Visit www.curetheblue.com to get involved!

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS UPDATES

new york state capitol
I N ALBANY

Minimum Wage Increase
Governor Cuomo said that a $15 minimum wage should be included as part of the 2016-17 state budget that must be approved by April 1 -- but did not say he would veto a budget that did not include it.  The release of the Senate and Assembly one-house budget language provided little clarity on the issue. Assembly Democrats did include the minimum wage measure in their one-house budget proposal, while  Senate Republicans are on hold.
Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (R-L.I.) has tried to keep the options open and hasn't out a minimum wage increase of some sort this session. U pstate Republicans including Deputy Senate Majority Leader DeFrancisco (R-Syracuse) have been especially vocal about the impact of the wage increase and say they can't support $15. 

Other Budget Items
The State Assembly passed an ethics bill that would allow legislators to earn nearly as much in outside income as their annual legislative salary of $79,500. The Governor has proposed a cap on outside income of $11,925. Senate Republicans have their own plan, including term limits for leadership posts and committee chairs and a constitutional amendment to strip those convicted of corruption of their public pension.Ethics reform and campaign finance reform will evidently not be negotiated as part of the budget talks. 

Legislative Activity

The Senate Labor Committee reported legislation (S.2590A/A.3109A) that would permit payment of wages through use of a payroll card, and requires availability of substantial number of in-network ATMs in state.

 

The Assembly Codes Committee considered legislation that would expand the consumer protection statute to include unconscionable acts not only deceptive acts, and provides treble and punitive damages along with a class action.

 

Senate Banks Chair Savino introduced legislation (S.6911, which would establish the community reinvestment program within the State Division of Housing and Community Renewal. It would to restore residential properties and prevent foreclosures, and establish the community reinvestment program fund council. There is not yet an Assembly companion. 

Political Updates:

Senator Marc Panepinto (D-Buffalo) announced he will not seek reelection. It could be a pivotal seat in the fight for control of the Senate this November.

 

The April 19 special election to succeed former Senator Dean Skelos (R-L.I.) is now essentially tied, according to a new Siena Poll. Democratic Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky was at 47%, and and GOP candidate Chris McGrath at 45%.  

 

IN WASHINGTON

OCC Reg Relief Proposal 
The OCC proposed to remove outdated or unnecessary provisions of certain rules to reduce regulatory burden on national banks and thrifts. Among other things, the proposal would remove notice and approval requirements for certain changes in permanent capital, simplify some licensing rules for business combinations involving mutuals, revise certain fiduciary activity requirements. 

SEC Nominees Face Tough Questions
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) threatened to oppose Obama's two nominees to the Securities and Exchange Commission because of their answers to questions about disclosure rules for corporate campaign donations. Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Robert Menendez (N.J.) were critical of the nominees on other issues.

Chairman Hensarling's Alternative 
To Dodd-Frank
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling discussed his vision for a House GOP alternative to financial regulations such as Dodd-Frank. Among the ideas expected to be part of the legislation that Hensarling said is coming soon: a loosening of regulations if financial institutions meet certain capital requirements.  Hensarling said his plan would also allow banks to obtain "vast regulatory relief" if they are willing to hold higher amounts of capital to guard against risks:  "If a bank chooses to have a fortress balance sheet that protects taxpayers and minimizes systemic risk, then bankers ought to be allowed to be bankers." 
He also said Federal Reserve's operations would be overhauled as part of any regulatory push, a nd reiterated longstanding GOP concern that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is far too powerful and lacks outside checks on its abilities.

 
ECONOMIC TRENDS & UPDATES

Housing Starts: Up Nationally, 
Down In Northeast 
The U.S. Commerce Department reported that U.S. housing starts rebounded more than expected in February, hitting their highest level in five months.  Groundbreaking increased 5.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.18 million units. However, Groundbreaking on single-family housing projects declined 12.5% in the Northeast, as ground was too wet after a January snowstorm. 

Mortgage Applications Down
Higher interest rates pushed mortgage refinancing activity down last week.  Total mortgage application volume fell 3.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous week according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, and is nearly 21% percent higher than the same week one year ago.  A 6% drop in refinance volume was behind the weekly drop. Refinance activity, falling steadily for the past month, reached its lowest level since August. Mortgage interest rates are still historically low, but they did rise last week. The average contract interest rates for 30-year fixed rate mortgages with conforming an balances ($417,000 or less) increased to 3.94 percent from 3.89 percent, with points increasing to 0.42 from 0.38 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio loans. 

 
 
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 
 
IBANYS SPOTLIGHTS:

Strategic Resource Management, Inc. (SRM)
. . .SRM is currently serving over 200 financial institutions to reduce expenses, enhance revenue and maximize bottom line performance. Drawing on its extensive experience, market insight, and proprietary benchmarking database, SRM helps banks improve their bottom line, without sacraficing qulaity or valued vendor relationships. 
Founded in 1992, SRM is an independent professional services firm that draws on extensive experience, market insight, and a robust, proprietary benchmarking database to help clients all across the U.S. and Canada.  SRM employs a proven spectrum of sourcing, procurement and revenue-enhancement services designed to help reduce operating expenses and optimize efficiency. They specialize in identifying previously undiscovered opportunities for growth or savings, aligning expenses with industry benchmarks, and fostering supplier partnerships with a focus on quality and long-term stability. SRM helps financial institutions reduce expenses, enhance revenue, and maximize bottom line performance. Drawing on extensive experience, market insight, and robust proprietary benchmarking database, they help banks and credit unions of all sizes improve their bottom lines without sacrificing quality or valued vendor relationships.  For details, contact EVP Ben Mrva:  (901) 681-0204, [email protected], or visit www.srmcorp.com.

  DID YOU KNOW. . .
.. .that House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jed Hensarling (R-Texas) is the 37th person to chair that committee or its predecessor committee, the House Banking Committee? He is the third Texan to hold the chairmanship. Five New Yorkers have done so, but none since 1920.

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."

_________________________________
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