September 25-27, 2018

                         Hilton Albany

                      40 Lodge Street

                    Albany, NY 12207

                

                    Hotel Information
 

A block of rooms has been reserved at the Hilton Albany. Reservations can be made by the following: 

Arrival Date:  September 25, 2018

Departure Date:  September 27, 2018

           Price of Rooms & Exclusive Deals                    Refer to Group Code:  1IBANY

                      Web:  Click Here                                                                                                Phone:   1-866-691-1183

*More Convention information will be released soon, so watch your emails, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,& LinkedIn!

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Member banks:   Share this information  with your senior management teams, officers, directors, compliance, security and human resources officers.  Preferred providers, associate members and business show exhibitors:  Now is the time to plan to attend, participate, sponsor/exhibit.  Contact Linda Gregware:   [email protected]  

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Convention Update: DFS Superintendent Vullo To Speak 

New York State Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria Vullo will address IBANYS' Annual Convention as our luncheon speaker on Wednesday, September 26.  

The Banking Division of DFS supervises - through chartering, licensing, registering, and examining safety & soundness, among other actions - nearly 1,900 banking and other financial institutions with assets of more than $2.9 trillion. 

The division is composed of the following groups: Foreign & Wholesale Banks, Community Banks & Regional Banks, Licensed Financial Services, and Mortgage Banking. 

 

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Become a Sponsor or Exhibitor!

Demonstrate your support for community banking by becoming a sponsor or exhibitor at our Annual Convention! Our Convention Trade Show provides the opportunity for exhibitors to discuss their products and services to attendees, while becoming a sponsor gives your organization the chance to show its continuing support for community banking in New York.

 

These two important opportunities that will put you front and center in terms of creating a presence for your firm and providing an opportunity to network with the industry's leadership.

You can view the Sponsorship form, as well as the Exhibitor form, for all information and details.  Please take a moment to carefully review, and act soon to secure both your exhibitor booth location for the trade show and the event/activity you wish to sponsor.

Please note: Both will be assigned on a first come, first served basis.

 

As always, thank you for your support and participation.

Are you participating in IBANYS' webinars? Your peers are! They provide timely, important information on subjects of interest to New York community bankers. They are valuable not only for their content, but for their convenience. Take part from the comfort and privacy of your office, without leaving the bank.  Our  Webinar Series  offers many topics in the following categories:

• Audit & Accounting
• Collections
• Compliance
• Directors
• Frontline & New Accounts
• Human Resources
• Information Technology
• IRA
• Lending
• Operations
• Security & Fraud
• Senior Management

We are always adding more programs based on needs and requests of our members,

who drive our focus!  Take a look at the various series of webinars we offer by clicking each of the links below.

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Thanks to the newly signed regulatory relief bill, most reciprocal deposits are no longer brokered. This comes as banks face intense and increasing competition for deposits.

Join Promontory Interfinancial Network-- the nation's leading provider and inventor of reciprocal deposit placement services-- for a free webinar that outlines key provisions of the new law and the impact ICS®, or Insured Cash Sweep®, and CDARS® can have on banks' balance sheets. The webinar will also cover how banks can use ICS and CDARS to capitalize on the opportunities at hand; presenters will discuss cost-effective ways to use the services to attract high-value relationships (even as deposit competition intensifies) and to lock-in more low-cost funding (even as interest rates continue to rise.) This webinar is a "must" for decision-makers at banks of all sizes, especially for community banks that utilize collateralized deposits and/or listing services.

Choose a date and time that works for you!

ICBA has expressed its support for a number of regulatory relief provisions included in the congressional spending legislation (" The fiscal 2019 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act), which is on the House floor this week.  The bill includes ICBA-backed measures to:

• restrict regulators from ordering the closure of deposit accounts without a material reason,
• give financial institutions a right to an expedited review of material supervisory determinations,
• enact a needed fix to the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure,
• create an independent inspector general for the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, and
• enhance congressional review of bureau rulemaking.

Powell: S.2155 Reforms Coming Quickly

	Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell

During his semiannual monetary policy report to Congress, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell told the Senate Banking Committee regulators are working as quickly as possible to implement the regulatory relief provisions in the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act (S. 2155).  Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) said he expects regulators to develop rules consistent with congressional content. Chairman Powell also said that continuing to gradually raise interest rates is the "best way forward" in light of the strong job market, moderate inflation and a balanced risk outlook. He did voice concern over the fall in the percentage of economic growth flowing to workers, calling it "very troubling" and a worrisome sign in an otherwise bright U.S. economy.

Amendment To Ban Postal Banking On House Floor

The House was expected to vote today on an ICBA-advocated amendment by House Financial Services Committee Vice Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) to prohibit the U.S. Postal Service from providing banking services.  The amendment is to the fiscal 2019 Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill.  ICBA and other groups urged Congress to adopt the amendment, noting serious concerns with postal banking proposals and encouraging the Postal Service to focus on its core business of mail delivery.  ICBA and Rep. McHenry previously urged the Treasury Department's special task force on postal reform to recommend prohibiting an expansion of banking services at the Postal Service.  In an  American Banker op-ed  earlier this year, ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey wrote that postal banking would put the livelihoods of many Americans in the hands of a government agency that has no experience in underwriting loans and cannot balance its own books.

Senate Confirms Quarles To New Term On Fed Board

The Senate voted 66-33 to confirm Federal Reserve Vice Chairman for Supervision

	Randal Quarles

Randal Quarles for a new 14-year term on the agency's board. He was previously approved for a four-year term as vice chairman, and a term for a seat on the board that expired in January.  Since taking office, Quarles has presided over the Fed's efforts to revise the post-crisis financial regulations, to ease their burdens on banks. In particular, he has helped facilitate a rewrite of the Volcker Rule, the Dodd-Frank regulation meant to prohibit banks from speculating with deposits backed by the federal government. Prior to joining the Fed, he was an investment manager. He also worked in the Treasury Department under President George W. Bush.

ICBA has informed federal regulators it supports the phasing-in of the day-one regulatory capital effects of adopting the Current Expected Credit Losses ("CECL") accounting standard, but also urged them to extend the transition period from three to five years. ICBA notes this extension would allow for potential future recessionary conditions in local economies. ICBA also urged that the transition should be limited to banks with total consolidated assets of $50 billion or less.

Kathleen Kraninger

Tomorrow, the Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on the nominations of Kathleen Kraninger for Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection and Kimberly Reed for president of the Export-Import Bank. Kraninger is currently the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) program associate director for general government, and would replace acting director Mick Mulvaney (who is also OMB Director) if confirmed by the Senate.  Four Committee Democrats (Sens. Brown,Ohio; Cortez Masto, NV; Menendez, NJ and Warren, MA)  requested more details  on Kraninger's involvement in the federal response to Hurricane Maria in her role as a top official at OMB.

Other News:

• Shahira Knight, who has served as a high-ranking official at the National Economic Council, is the new White House legislative affairs director following the departure of Marc Short. Knight was instrumental in pushing for the tax law enacted last year.

• Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), senior member of the House Financial Services Committee,  believes Congress  needs to move past efforts to repeal the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act and "be forward-looking" to problems that future economic crises could pose. McHenry, a possible replacement for outgoing Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) if the GOP holds the House, also said Congress will eventually need to "step in to provide clarity" on regulatory issues surrounding digital currencies - particularly initial coin offerings.

New York Community Banks Among ICBA's 2018 "Lending Leaders"

Each year, ICBA calculates the top community bank loan producers in the agricultural, commercial and mortgage & consumer categories, broken down by asset size. This year, a number of IBANYS members/New York community banks made the list! These banks were recognized for many different reasons -- but top-notch, second-to-none customer service -- the hallmark of a great community bank -- is one thing they all share. 

Among those who made the 2018 list:

• Canandaigua National Bank & Trust
• Carthage Federal Savings & Loan
• Elmira Savings Bank
• First Central Savings Bank
• First National Bank of Long Island
• Geddes Federal Savings & Loan
• Maspeth Federal Savings & Loan
• Modern Bank, N.A.
• North Country Savings Bank
• The Westchester Bank
• Ulster Savings Bank

IBANYS congratulates these outstanding institutions!

	Jim Reber

Community bankers, being conservative types (regarding their investment strategies, among other topics), like predictability. Equity markets, commodities, and the dreaded "D" word ("derivatives") all are perceived by many to be far too volatile for their risk profile, whether we're talking about personal or commercial investing. I would hasten to mention that risk aversion has served the community banking industry very well over time.

 

This brings us to this column's topic. It's been well documented that mortgage-backed securities (MBSs) are very popular with investment managers. Currently, over half of all community bank investments are of the amortizing variety. Virtually all of these are issued or guaranteed by the government or its agencies, so the credit quality is very high. With interest rates rising, a lot of the high premium prices of the last decade have dwindled, so that risk has pretty much abated. The corollary risk to rising rates (other than prices falling, of course) is that cash flow dries up.   Read the full column .

 

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MBS performance history

ICBA Securities' exclusive broker Vining Sparks publishes mortgage market prepayment commentary each month, including tables on recent performance for some of the more popular MBSs. Visit viningsparks.com or contact your Vining Sparks sales rep for more details.

   

Jim Reber can be reached at (800) 422-6442 or at [email protected].

 

According to the U.S. Commerce Department, retail sales rose 0.5 percent in June, and were up 6.6 percent from a year ago. Sales were up broadly, a promising sign for second-quarter growth in the gross domestic product. In addition, the May increase was revised up from 0.8 percent to 1.3 percent-the largest gain since September 2017.

The Commerce Department also reported that U.S. homebuilding fell to a nine-month low in June, and permits declined for a third straight month.  Housing starts declined 12.3 percent, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.173 million units last month -- the lowest level since September 2017. 

The merger of Financial Services Roundtable and the Clearing House, two banking lobbying powerhouses, goes into effect today, giving the industry a more united voice on regulatory issues in Washington. The group, now named the Bank Policy Institute, will represent 48 of the country's biggest banks. Former Clearing House CEO Greg Baer Baer is the new group's Chief Executive Officer.

Millennials: Savings Don't Match Retirement Goals

SPECIAL NOTICE: It's Nomination Season for FHLBNY Board Seats-- Deadline is July 31

The Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (FHLBNY) is soliciting nominations for candidates to serve on its Board of Directors for terms commencing January 1, 2019. Five Directorships are up for election this year: 

• One seat representing the FHLBNY's New York members 
• Two representing the FHLBNY's New Jersey members 
• Two Independent Directorships representing the whole District. 

The Bank of Richmondville was started in 1881 as a privately-owned bank, established by Judge John Westover and Mr. James Foster. The bank was initially located on the present site of the Richmondville Post Office, across the street from its present Richmondville office.

In March of 1884, the firm of John Westover and James Foster added John R. Becker to the partnership.

In December of 1893, the Bank of Richmondville was established as a state chartered bank. Stockholders elected William E. Lewis, James H. Brown, A.D. Frasier, M.W. Harroway, Milo N. Bradley, H.S. Lewis and John Holmes as the first Board of Directors.

Richmondville, NY location

During its 125 years of service as a locally owned, independent, community bank, its history as included only six presidents. Mr. A.D. Frasier served as its first President from 1893 to 1926. The second president, succeeding Mr. Frasier, was Mr. John D. Holmes. Mr. Holmes (who became a director in January of 1907) served in that office from 1926 to 1967. Mr. Holmes' nephew, Chauncey H. Winters, served as the third President of the bank from 1967 to 1978. Mr. Winters was followed by the fourth President, Mr. Maurice J. Sperbeck, from 1978 until his retirement in December of 1992. The fifth President of the bank, Mr. Peter L. Randall, held that position from January 1993 through September of 1995. Randy L. Crasper was named President in January 1996.

	Cobleskill, NY location

The bank's home office is located at 284 Main St. in Richmondville, a location utilized by the community for hometown banking services for decades.

In September of 1982, the Bank of Richmondville opened an office located at 857 East Main St. in Cobleskill. This office eventually became the main office and operations center.

Schoharie, NY location

On October 19, 1998, the Bank opened a branch office at 428 Main St. in Schoharie, New York.

The Board of Directors, numbering seven, are members of the community and committed to the principles and operation of the bank as an independent community bank. 

The bank is governed by regulations issued by the New York State Banking Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

The bank continues in its efforts to serve the area as an Independent commercial bank and to maintain its position as the area's "Hometown Banking Tradition" as it has since 1893.

Now offering Mobile Banking with Remote Deposit!

For more information, visit our website at www.bankrich.com or call us at (518) 234-4397.

My Wellness Resource & TELADOC

The health and wellness landscape continues to evolve. "My Wellness Resource" can be a nice addition to your existing benefit package. 

Teladoc can save your banks time and money, and provide real value to your employees as this testimonial from a New York community bank CEO proves:

Contact Alan Justin: (716) 907-5500. 

"Cure the Blue" Helps Banking Industry Battle Prostate Cancer!

The "Cure the Blue" program sponsored by the Buffalo Bills Alumni Foundation allows New Yorkers to participate in one of the most comprehensive efforts to help promote prostate cancer awareness and research in the United States.  Lake Shore Savings Bank has provided prostate cancer literature and Cure the Blue information at all eleven of its branches and their headquarters in Dunkirk. The bank also offered Cure the Blue ceramic lapel ribbon pins for a $5.00 donations to Cure the Blue to all their customers. "We fully understand the severity of this disease and the devastating effect it can have on families" said Lake Shore Savings Bank President and CEO Dan Reininga. "Our support of the Buffalo Bills Alumni Foundation's "Cure the Blue" initiative is something that we are taking very seriously and are proud to support." Buffalo Bills Wall of Famer and Alumni Foundation President Booker Edgerson, a two time prostate cancer survivor, said the bank has been a tremendous longtime supporter, noting: "They have really stepped up to the plate with their unwavering support of our Cure the Blue initiative." 

IBANYS urges all of our member banks, associate members and allies to join the effort. Cure the Blue" raises funds and awareness regarding prostate cancer in New York State. Visit  curetheblue.com  to get involved! Of all new cancer cases in the nation, prostate cancer represents 9.6%. In 2017, there were an estimated 161,000 new cases, and more than 26,000 fatalities due to the disease. Support IBANYS' "Cure the Blue" campaign to help New Yorkers participate to promote prostate cancer awareness and research.

The .bank program by fTLD operates trusted, verified, more secure, easily-identifiable internet locations for financial companies and  customers. www.icba.org 

 . . . That according to a new Zillow Group Consumer Housing Trends Report, m illennials are shaping the market more than realized. Half of all buyers are under 36 and half of all sellers are under 41. The report also says y oung adults are driving more diversity among homeowners: 

• Only 66 percent of millennial homeowners are white, compared with 77 percent of all homeowners. 
• Among millennial homeowners, 17 percent are Latino or Hispanic, 10 percent are African-American and 7 percent are Asian or Pacific Islander. 

 

New York community banks play a key role in our state and local economies. Help spread the good news among our customers, business, elected leaders and the media!

John J. Witkowski

President & Chief Executive Officer

Stephen W. Rice

Director of Government Relations & Communications

Linda Gregware

Director of Administration & Membership Services

William Y. Crowell III

Legislative Counsel

Natalie Rowan

Marketing & Social Media Assistant