New York community banks:

Click Here  to read a letter outlining some of the benefits Legal Shield/ID Shield can provide. 

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ALBANY UPDATE

Today is the final scheduled day of the 2017 NYS legislative session. If past is prelude, the State Senate and Assembly may work well into the late night/early morning. However,  this year's final days of session do not appear to be the same as in previous years, when late efforts often culminated in "big ugly" agreements and omnibus bills. Much of what Governor Cuomo wanted in 2017 was accomplished in the state budget. Agreements have been  reached on such issues as expanding the purchasing of American-made goods like steel and iron, while other large initiatives have eluded agreement.  IBANYS will be monitoring legislative activity in the closing hours of the session. Here are some of the issues we have been following in the closing days.

• Credit Unions/State BDD (Muni Deposits) A Department of Financial Services bill sponsored by the two legislative Banks Committee Chairs would extend the State's Banking Development Districts Program to federal and state credit unions. The program is currently only available to banks and thrifts. Participants receive state funds and real property tax benefits for establishing brick-and- mortar branches in underserved areas. We are reminding legislators: 1) tax-paying community banks provide a disproportionately high percentage of small business and agricultural loans in New York State vis-a-vis the amount of deposits they hold; 2) the loss of municipal deposits would have a negative impact on business and balance sheets. IBANYS has successfully opposed and stopped this effort during the past several legislative sessions, and strongly oppose it again this year. CLICK HERE to read our Memo in Opposition.

WASHINGTON UPDATE

President To Nominate James Clinger 

To   Lead FDIC 

President Trump will nominate  James Clinger, former Chief Counsel of the House Financial Services Committee and a deputy assistant attorney general under President G.W. Bush, to replace Martin Gruenberg as FDIC Chairman, subject to Senate confirmation. He would fill a vacant seat at the FDIC until current Chairman Martin Gruenberg's term ends in November.On the hill, Clinger helped write the 1999 Gramm-Leach Bliley Act, and more recently worked for House Financial Services Committee Chairman Hensarling, who sponsored the Financial "CHOICE" Act. His nomination nearly completes the administration's financial regulatory team. The President previously nominated Joseph Otting (a colleague of Treasury Secretary Mnuchin's at OneWest Bank) as Comptroller of the Currency, and indicated Randal Quarles (a Treasury official under Presidend G.W. Bush) will likely be named to handle regulatory duties at the Federal Reserve.

New York Community Bankers:

Contact Your Representatives On CLEAR ACT

IBANYS joins ICBA in urging community banks to contact their members of Congress to urge them to co-sponsor the CLEAR Relief Act (H.R. 2133, S. 1002) by  Rep. Blaine situation (R-MO), and the Senate (S. 1002), by Sens. Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Jon Tester (D-MT). We need to take action to advocate for  congressional support for this comprehensive community bank regulatory relief legislation. The CLEAR Relief Act bills include relief from, among other things, mortgage rules, the Volcker rule, the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule and Sarbanes-Oxley requirements.  New York community bankers: Use ICBA's "Be Heard" Grassroots site (icba.org) to contact your Representatives.

Invite Your Local Congressional Representatives To Your Bank This August

With summer at hand, we're only a few weeks from the August congressional recess, when Members of Congress return to their districts to meet with constituents. IBANYS joins ICBA in urging New York community bankers to invite your local Representatives (and their staff) to visit your banks to see first hand  the challenges of today's regulatory environment. You can help them to see the urgent need to find solutions to the regulatory overreach that hinders your ability to serve your local customers and communities -- and to understand the importance of community banking to their constituents.  To help you prepare, ICBA developed a "Meeting on Main Street" guide. The guide will help with planning and logistics for conducting a bank visit or in-district meeting.  T ake a step toward meaningful community bank regulatory relief. Questions? Contact Joshua.habursky@icba.org, (202)821-4355. 

National Flood Insurance Program Update

Last week, the House Financial Services Committee approved two bills to reauthorize and reform the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). One bill (H.R. 2868, sponsored by Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-Long Island) would protect policyholders from excessive premium rates. A second bill (H.R. 2874) is a wide-range reauthorization. Today, the Committee continued marking up flood insurance legislation, including a provision (opposed by ICBA) that would remove the NFIP mandatory purchase requirement for commercial properties. 

ICBA To Senate: Don't Overlook Larger Community Banks In Reg Relief Legislation

Last week, ICBA urged Senators to ensure that community bank regulatory relief legislation addresses larger community banks' concerns--including institutions with more than $10 billion in assets. ICBA noted industry growth and consolidation has increased the average size of all banks, although larger community banks retain their local focus and direct knowledge of customers and local economic conditions. ICBA's statement highlighted a number of reg relief provisions outlined in its Plan for Prosperity platform (endorsed by IBANYS). ICBA also testified before the Senate Banks Committee on the need to enact bills to address community bank overregulation -- including passing the CLEAR Act (S.1002) and the Community Bank Access to Capital Act.

ICBA To CFPB: Exempt Community Banks 

From Small Business Loan Regs

A bipartisan group of 72 Members of Congress urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to exempt community banks from pending regulations on small business loans. The Representatives told CFPB Director Cordray that the data-collection and -reporting requirements under Section 1071 of Dodd Frank threaten to undermine community bank lending and decrease access to credit.

BSG provides revenue-enhancement and compliance solutions for financial institutions nationwide. Their solutions include:

For details, contact Senior V.P.  Trevor Knott : ( 781) 254-9647, tknott@bsgfinancial.com.  Or, visit the website at: www.bsgfinancial.com