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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 2015 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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. . .An Exciting Time To Belong To IBANYS!
Welcome To IBANYS' Newest Member Bank
IBANYS is pleased to welcome our newest member bank:
Empire State Bank, operating in the Hudson Valley and New York City. It began operations i
n June of 2004 as a full-  service, community-oriented bank, with the goal of providing customers with high quality personalized banking services, innovative financial products and competitive rates.
From the Beginning, Empire set to offer a full line of checking, deposit and loan products tailored to meet the specific needs of the customers and businesses they serve in the Hudson Valley Region, New York Metro Area, and beyond. Philip Guarnieri is President and Co-CEO of Empire State Bank. Welcome aboard!!
IBANYS is looking forward to a busy, productive 2016 working on behalf of New York's community banks.
- In Washington, Congress returns to work today (the Senate is not in session, while the House convened at 10 AM and begins legislative business at Noon. In Albany, the Governor will deliver his combined State of the State & 2016-17 Budget Presentation address next Wednesday, January 13. IBANYS will hold our first Government Relations Committee conference call of the year two days later, on Friday January 15 to review state and federal legislative and regulatory issues and policies. We'll hold a GR call every Friday at 9:00 a.m. as situations and issues dictate...
- Except for the fourth Friday of each month, when we will hold calls hosted by one of our preferred providers, partners or associate members to discuss important services and products available to IBANYS member banks!
- We'll have a full menu of outstanding educational meetings (see below) including our Annual Convention September 28-30, our CFO/Senior Management Conference May 9-11 at the Harbour Hotel in Watkins Glen, NY, and our Conferences for community banks' Compliance, Security, Human Resources and Lending Officers.
. . .IBANYS' 2016 Meetings
We'll have a full menu of outstanding educational meetings (see below) including our Annual Convention September 28-30, our CFO/Senior Management Conference May 9-11 at the Harbour Hotel in Watkins Glen, NY, and our Conferences for community banks' Compliance, Security, Human Resources and Lending Officers.
May 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 conference format will incorporate panel discussions, extended q. and a. and stand alone presentations. Stay tuned for details and registration information!
January 12 Downstate Regional
Compliance Conference
Join IBANYS next week for our Downstate Regional Compliance Conference on Tuesday, January 12 at the Empire National Bank, 1707 Veterans Highway, Islandia, NY (Board Room). The program is designed for
CEOs,
Compliance Officers,
BSA Officers,
Sr. Lending Officers,
Inside/Outside Counsel,
Employees with Lending Responsibilities and
Employees with Risk Management Responsibilities.
The agenda will include:
- Building a Compliance Culture Board and Executive Oversight
- Fair Lending, CRA & Review of Outcomes on Recent OCC Exam
- Compliance and "Hot Button" Examination Issues
- Open Discussion/Q & A session
To register or for additional information, please
March 30-31 Upstate Regional
Compliance Sessions
IBANYS held a conference call with our Compliance Committee this week to continue planning our 2016 Spring Regional Compliance Conferences, March 30 and 31 in Western New York and the Capital District. The Committee recommended expanded presentations by federal and state banking regulators (FDIC, OCC, Federal Reserve, NYS DFS, CFPB), topical presentations by outside consultants and a bankers peer panel discussion. Segments will focus on timely "hot button" issues and concerns. Subjects include cyber security and risk management; CRA/fair lending/community development loans; flood insurance; HMDA; BSA/AML, and complaint management, including portal systems.
Watch for IBANYS' full 2016 Meeting Calendar...coming soon.
Upcoming Free Webcasts On Cyber Security
IBANYS is pleased to have established a relationship with the NYS Enterprise Information Security Office's Office of Information Technology Services.
The information provided in the attached PDF file below provides specific details about a number of upcoming free webcasts related to cyber security. Please feel free to share this information with your officers, directors and employees.
Click here
for upcoming cybersecurity related webcasts.
THE ECONOMY
The Latest Snapshots:
- In 2015, small businesses saw their softest year of employment growth since 2011. The monthly Paychex/IHS Small Business Jobs Index decreased to 100.37 in December, a slight drop from a year earlier and essentially unchanged from November. Last year ended with a consistent downward trend since the index peaked in April 2014 at 101.26. While December marked the 51st-consecutive month of job gains, the 12-month growth rate was slightly negative - minus 0.19% - with gains continuing to slow following the low point of the recession.
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Consumer confidence improved in December after a November dip, the Conference Board said Tuesday.
The index hit 96.5 in December, up from the revised November reading of 92.6.
Thomson Reuters analysts had expected a reading of 93.8 for December.
- Tight supply of homes for sale is pushing home prices ever higher again - with annual gains swelling in most major markets. Home values in October were 5.2% higher than October of 2014, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, which measures all nine U.S. census divisions. This is stronger than the 4.9% annual gain in September. Housing starts are higher than a year ago, but new home sales are still well below the historical average and 65% below the "bubble" peak of 2005. Home prices for both existing and new homes have been bolstered by very low mortgage rates.
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Warmer-than-normal temperatures across much of the nation did nothing to heat up home sales in November. Pending home sales, a measure of signed contracts, not closings, fell 0.9% compared to an upwardly revised October reading, according to the National Association of Realtors.
They were 2.7% higher than November of 2014, but that is the smallest annual increase in over a year and November's number was the third monthly decline in the past four months.
Regionally, pending home sales in the Northeast decreased 3.0% and are 4.3% above a year ago.
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS UPDATES
The NYS Legislature returns to Albany today to organize for the 2016 legislative session, as required by state law. The '16 session will take place in the shadow of the November election, which promises a hotly contested battle for control of the NYS Senate. Both the Senate and Assembly were scheduled to gavel in at Noon today. However, since the Governor's State of the State/Budget Presentation Address won't be delivered until NEXT Wednesday (January 13), the first day of the session will mostly be focused on "agenda setting" and organizational matters.
Leaders of the both the Assembly and Senate were ousted in 2015due to federal corruption charges that led to convictions. Gov. Cuomo has said ethics reforms will be at the
"top" of his agenda
in next week's State of the State presentation.
Governor Reshuffles His Inner Circle
As the 2016 session begins, Governor Cuomo has shuffled his inner circle of top aides...including the appointment of a longtime top Republican Senate staffer as his new budget director. Heres a look at the new faces on the senior team.
- Melissa DeRosa, Cuomo's communications director and strategic adviser, is now his chief of staff. She was previously NYS Attorney General Schneiderman's acting chief of staff. The new communications director is James Allen, who once served as then-Newark Mayor Corey Booker's chief spokesman and as vice president of communications and strategy at Mic, a media company that focuses on millennials.
- The Governor has appointed State Senate GOP Chief of Staff Robert Mujica as his new budget director, replacing Mary Beth Labate. Mujica was also secretary to the Senate Finance Committee and has been with the Senate for 19 years as a top aide to three Senate GOP leaders. Mujica has been lead negotiator for the Senate on the state budget and key policy issues. Senate GOP Leader John Flanagan said Mujica's deputy Michael Paoli, a 27-year Senate veteran, will be elevated to Secretary of the Senate Finance Committee.
- Jill DesRosiers, former director of scheduling, is now deputy secretary of executive operations. Desrosiers was a top aide to former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. She will oversee intergovernmental affairs, scheduling, and operations, and constituency affairs.
IN WASHINGTON:
A Fourth New York Representative
Won't
Seek Reelection
Rep. Steve Israel (D-Long Island), a member of the House Democratic leadership, announced he will not seek reelection in November. Rep. Israel is the fourth member of the state's 27 House members who will not run again in November. He joins fellow Democrat Charles Rangel (D-Harlem) and two upstate Republicans: Chris Gibson (R-Columbia County), and Richard Hanna (R-Oneida County).
In Other Federal News. . .
- The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) voted to repeal an unpopular rule requiring that banks use "debt-valuation adjustment" accounting in their quarterly earnings statements. Banks said the rule created fluctuations in their earnings statements from quarter to quarter, regardless of an institution's actual stability. The Financial Accounting Standards Board said Tuesday that it would change a rule that in recent years was responsible for massive and often counterintuitive swings in bank earnings. The rule requires banks to take losses when some of their own debt is considered safe and rising in value, and to record gains when the debt is considered riskier and declining in value.
- Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan), a member of the House Financial Services and the Joint Economic Committees, has called on the Securities and Exchange Commission to require all publicly traded companies to publish the race, ethnicity and gender of board nominees when they seek shareholder votes. Her announcement follows a Government Accountability Office report that found women hold just 16% of corporate board seats.
- The federal government has fined JPMorgan Chase & Co. $48 million for failing to implement the terms of a 2013 settlement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency regarding "fraudulently using" 'robo-signed' foreclosure documents.
Horn Re-elected As FHLBNY Chairman
Michael M. Horn
was reelected last month to his fifth term as chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank of
New York (
FHLBNY). He
has served as the FHLBNY's chairman since May 2008., and chairs the  Council of Federal Home Loan Banks.
Mr. Horn is a part
ner in the law firm of McCarter & English, LLP and previously served as New Jersey Commissioner of Banking,
New Jersey State Treasurer and was a member of the New Jersey State Assembly and its Banking Committee. José R. González continues as President and CEO of the FHLBNY, which currently serves more than 325 financial institutions in New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Its mission is to support the efforts of local members to help provide financing for America's homebuyers.
Dodd Frank's Compliance Burdens On Community Banks
According to the Government Accountability Office's annual report on Dodd-Frank regulations released December 31, community banks continue to experience increases in compliance burdens associated with Dodd-Frank Act rules.
In a survey  of several community banks and credit unions, the GAO found that a number of institutions have seen an overall increase in compliance costs, including the amount of staff, training and time allocated to meeting regulatory standards, and that in some cases banks have seen declines in specific business activities as a result of new rules.
Banks specifically noted increased costs related to the CFPB's new TRID rule and regulations related to escrow accounts, appraisals for higher-priced loans and mortgage servicing. They also expressed concern that the Ability to Repay/ Qualified Mortgage rule standards could restrict mortgage lending, with many stating they have already scaled back on making non-QM loans due to liability concerns. The report pointed out, however, that agency data thus far have not reflected this.
Help IBANYS & "Cure The Blue"
Fight Prostate Cancer
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? Visit www.ibanys.net for details.lick here
Control Health Care Costs,
Improve Employee Benefits
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 through Telehealth. The program will also provide discounts and significant savings on a variety of medical and dental products. Sponsored by My Wellness Resource, Inc. and IBANYS, this program was designed to improve productivity, decrease absenteeism and boost morale without straining your bottom line. Click here and here to learn more about this exciting new alternative, or visit www.ibanys.net for details/to enroll.
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.
On Tuesday, Feb. 4
, learn about effective compensation and benefit programs essential for financial institutions to be successful in meeting their recruitment and retention goals. This program will focus on what an HR generalist (who may wear many hats) needs to ensure programs are competitive and understood by applicants and employees. This webinar will provide an overview of basic regulatory requirements, but will not go into detailed technical legal requirements. It will also outline audit best practices and feature approaches to ensure you have effective processes in place - so you can spend more time on people and less time on paperwork.
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Please take a moment to review all of our upcoming programs by clicking on the link below.
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IBANYS SPOTLIGHTS:
Jamesson Associates
Michael Jamesson has over thirty years of experience in banking and related fields. His experience spans the full range of banking institutions from community, thrift, and metropolitan regional banks to regional and super-regional bank holding companies. Since founding Jamesson Associates in 1991, he has focused his efforts on financial advisory services for community banks and thrifts. He is a regular contributor to the Independent Bankers Association of New York State bi-monthly newsletter and has been published in the national trade press. Mr. Jamesson is a frequent speaker at IBANYS seminars on market-related issues for community institutions.
His successful projects and activities include:
Organizing and moderating strategic planning processes for community-oriented financial institutions.
- Asset/Liability Management
Full range of services --- process analysis and design, Policy design, and report review and recommendation.
Branch/bank subsidiary purchases and/or divestitures, community-oriented bank stock offerings/repurchases, and merger of equals.
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DID YOU KNOW. . .
. . .that a
s of the end of the fourth quarter of 2015, a total of 271 Dodd-Frank rulemaking requirement deadlines have passed. Of these 271 passed deadlines, 204 (75.3%) have been met with finalized rules, and rules have been proposed that would meet 34 (12.5%) more. Rules have not yet been proposed to meet 33 (12.2%) passed rulemaking requirements.
In addition, 267 (68.46%) of the 390 total required rulemakings have been met with finalized rules and rules have been proposed that would meet 40 (10.26%) more. Rules have not yet been proposed to meet 83 (21.28%) rulemaking requirements.
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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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