July 21, 2021
IBANYS Weekly E-Newsletter
  • Visit our website at www.ibanys.net to review our daily updates on COVID-19.
The President's Message
By John Witkowski, President & CEO
 
 A reminder: Our new address is: 
Independent Bankers Association of New York State
194 Washington Ave, Suite 420
Albany, NY 12210.

  • IBANYS held a meeting of our reconstituted Government Relations Committee and our IBANYS member bank this week to review and discuss the legislation of interest to New York community banks that passed in both the NYS Senate and Assembly during the 2021 legislative session and awaits action by Governor Cuomo. We will be holding a follow-up meeting in August to discuss ideas and suggestions for proactive legislation to benefit New York community banks -- which could be included in our 2022 state legislative agenda. We invite your comments and suggestions on these bills and your suggestions for 2022 agenda items.. Please email John Witkowski (Johnw@ibanys.net) or Steve Rice (Stever@ibanys.net).

  •  IBANYS' "Come Back" Celebration for Community Banks will be our first "in person" event in 18 months. It will take place September 13 - 14 -- at the Harbor Hotel in Clayton, NY. Complete details, registration information and sponsorship opportunities are below.

  • John Buhrmaster, President & CEO of 1st National Bank of Scotia, and a member of IBANYS' Board of Directors (and former Chairman of both IBANYS and ICBA) was interviewed in The Albany Business Review on the upcoming end of the New York state's eviction and foreclosure moratoriums, and his concern the state has been slow to roll out its COVID-19 rent relief program. He worries there may be a wave of evictions and foreclosures this fall, and how they could impact a potential housing crisis. Read the full article here.


. . .Please stay safe and healthy, and as always, thank you for all that you do for New York's community banking industry, those that we serve . . .and for IBANYS, your association.

John
IBANYS "Come Back Celebration"
Executive Fall Meeting
September 13-14, 2021
We are calling this The Come Back Celebration for good reason. It’s been 18 months since IBANYS had our community banks together in one place. During this time, we have seen community banks lead the way in supporting their customers, small businesses and most importantly their communities through a difficult time. All of you have significantly changed or adjusted your business model to accommodate the pandemic.

This meeting is to celebrate you, your team and all the people you have supported in your community. We will cover a number of topics that will look at business before, during and the effect on banks and what to expect next.

All C-level suite, Senior Management and Bank Boards are welcome.

Please join us for the Come Back Celebration.
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS & PREFERRED PARTNERS
Mid-Year Review: How New York Banks Stack Up
Thursday, August 19 at 10am ET
Duration: 1 hour
Join this webinar as we review key performance analysis and trends to see how New York community banks are stacking up halfway into 2021. We’ll look at top performers in critical categories, so you can better assess your position relative to your peers and competition. We’ll look at both strengths and weaknesses, as well as the why and how behind your performance metrics. You’ll also learn how New York’s community banks compared to the rest of the nation’s. All analysis is based on publicly available performance data using a proprietary index of “true” community banks provided by QwickAnalytics®. Contact info@qwickrate.com for more information on the webinar or to request a demo of QwickAnalytics, including its CECLSolver™ tool. Attend and learn about simpler ways to manage your bank by the numbers!  

[Webinar] FDIC Deposit Insurance Coverage and Related Matters

This free webinar* is designed for CPAs, all levels of bank employees, and executives who would like to learn more about FDIC deposit insurance coverage and related matters. CPAs can receive 1 CPE credit (approved by NASBA). This session will cover:
  • Coverage Background
  • Basic Coverage Rules
  • Agency or Custodial Accounts
  • Coverage for Government Accounts
  • Examination Preparation
  • Reciprocal Deposits

Select your date:
August 17 – 2:00 PM ET 
September 14 – 11:00 AM ET 
October 19 – 2:00 PM ET
November 16 – 11:00 AM ET 
 About the Speaker:

Joe DiNuzzo, a former attorney with the FDIC and an expert in FDIC insurance regulations, will lead the session. The session will include a Q&A segment to address your specific concerns. Upon completion you will have a thorough understanding of how FDIC insurance coverage works and other matters relating to FDIC insurance. 
Q2 2021 Earnings from Large Banks: Trends & Implications for Small Banks
Grigoris Karakoulas
July 17, 2021
The largest US banks reported very positive second quarter earnings last week despite generally lower net interest margin and negative loan growth. The positive earnings were mainly due to a significant loan loss provision benefit (negative loan loss provision).

Back-to-School Content to Share with Your Account Holders
Demonstrate your bank’s support to your account holders during this back-to-school season by sharing relevant and timely financial tips. Check out these back-to-school tips in this article and get started by downloading free social media templates to share on your bank’s social channels.

News from ICBA
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN
Leadership is a lifestyle! The ICBA LEAD FWD Summit is back for its ninth year and is your ticket to becoming the best leader you can be.
Who made ICBA's top lender list?
The dust from 2020 is finally beginning to settle, and that gives us an opportunity to look back at the hard work community banks put in to serve their customers. ICBA's top lenders made the most of one of the toughest years in recent memory through personal connection, ingenuity, and dedication to their communities. Meet the year’s most successful loan producers in the areas of agriculture, commercial and consumer/mortgage lending.

Slippery slope
Another yield curve shift has community bankers guessing.
By Jim Reber

And now for something completely different. Except it’s not; it just hasn’t been around for a number of years. But it most assuredly has an impact on your community bank’s bond portfolio and on the securities you’ll be thinking about purchasing the next time you’re in the market. 

WEBINARS
IBANYS Webinars

Are you participating in IBANYS webinars? Now is the time! IBANYS webinars provide timely, important information on subjects of interest to New York community bankers including human resources, business development, investment, compliance and security and much more. They are valuable not only for their content, but for their convenience and low-cost. Take part from the comfort and privacy of your office, without leaving the bank. 
Subscription Tokens
The More You Buy, The More You Save
 
How does it work:
Tokens can be used to purchase live or recorded webinars anytime, with no expiration! Tokens for both live and recorded webinars are available for an additional fee. (What’s the difference? Click here for the full description.)
 
Once you have your Subscription Token code, you can immediately register for webinars by using the code at checkout! (Subscription tokens not applicable for full series registrations, or other specials.)
Albany Update

  • Last June, the COVID-19 pandemic led to an economic crisis and significant unemployment, with New York City reporting nearly one in five people out of work. A year later, new data from the state Department of Labor shows the unemployment rates in many metro areas of the state have been reduced, some by more than half. But New York City continues to lag. Read More

  • It will be weeks before New York issues any payments from the state’s $2.4 billion COVID-19 rent relief fund, adding to delays in a program that has been beset by technical glitches with its online application portal, The Associated Press reports. . . .Here's a link to an interview with former IBANYS Chairman John Buhrmaster's interview with The Albany Business Review on that, and related issues of the pending end of New York's eviction & foreclosure moratoriums.

  • State Comptroller DiNapoli said the state should commit more money to its “rainy day fund” as it emerges from the pandemic with healthier-than-expected financial resources due to federal aid and a boost in tax revenue. His office released a report on the state's fiscal picture, which has brightened significantly since a year ago when the COVID-19 pandemic largely froze economic activity in the state. Budget gaps originally expected to be a combined $38.7 billion over four years have now been reduced to $3.4 billion. However, DiNapoli cautioned he is looking toward the next crisis. 

SBA Procedural Notice 5000-812316 and a helpful PPT related to PPP Guaranty Purchase Lender Responsibilities.
 
The purpose of the attached notice is to remind PPP Lenders of their servicing responsibilities and to advise PPP Lenders of the guaranty purchase process for SBA to honor its 100% guaranty on a PPP loan.



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The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is announcing the issuance of SBA Form 413 (7a/504/SBG/ODA/WOSB/8a), Personal Financial Statement. SBA simplified the collection of information by consolidating four versions of the form into a single document with updated instructions, data fields, certification(s), notices, and regulatory disclosures based on the Program Offices (7a,504,SBG,ODA WOSB, 8a). Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the revised form will serve all 7(a), 504, SBG, ODA, WOSB, and 8(a) Loan Programs. SBA Information Notice 5000-813332 is attached.
 
The new Form 413 is available by clicking here.
 
The Form is available for immediate use. However, for applications currently in process, SBA Lenders and Sureties may continue to use the previously approved version. Beginning 60 days after this notice, SBA will only accept the renewed version of the Form.

Washington Update

  • The OCC said it will propose rescinding its May 2020 Community Reinvestment Act rule and work with other agencies on a joint rulemaking. The OCC said its decision follows a review of the rulemaking initiated by Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu in May. In a joint statement, the FDIC and Federal Reserve Board joined the OCC in committing to work together on a joint CRA rule. ICBA expressed support for the OCC announcement after previously supporting the agency’s May announcement that it would reconsider the rule.

  • Farm Credit System lenders should not have lower standards for appraisals and valuations than those required of community banks, ICBA told the Farm Credit Administration. In acomment letteron a proposed rule on FCS collateral evaluation requirements, ICBA said: “Other Financial Institutions”—generally bank subsidiaries that borrow from FCS entities—should not be required to comply with both FCS and bank regulators’ appraisal requirements to avoid duplication; There should be adequate separation between FCS staff conducting in-house evaluations or appraisals and those making loan approvals; FCS lenders should not be allowed to keep water and mineral rights when land is sold to new owners; The proposed rule should incorporate any planned appraisal standards for Farmer Mac to prevent lender confusion; FCS lending that provides credit for borrowers’ “other credit needs” should ensure the overall credit package is primarily agriculture related. ICBA and IBANYS continue to encourage community bankers to use ICBA’s Be Heard grassroots alert urging congressional support for the ECORA Act (H.R. 1977/S. 2202), which would exempt from taxation interest income on farm real estate and rural mortgage loans.


  • The Biden administration will name Graham Steele, former aide to current Senate Banking Chairman Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), as Assistant Treasury Secretary for Financial Institutions, a position that will lead the White House's efforts to strengthen Wall Street regulation. Steele has advocated for the inclusion of climate change as a systemic risk to the financial system.

  • ICBA has urged Congress not to advance a postal banking pilot project under fiscal 2022 spending legislation. In a letter to Senate appropriators, ICBA said: Postal banking would jeopardize the postal service’s core mission; The postal service is ill-suited to provide financial services; Banking the unbanked is too important a policy goal to entrust to an untested proposal; Community bank-fintech partnerships and expanded access to affordable broadband would better promote access to banking services. In a recent issue brief to Congress, ICBA said the pursuit of postal banking would harm the already-stressed primary function of the postal service—mail delivery. Future ICBA issue briefs will focus on how the USPS is unfit for financial services and on more realistic alternatives to postal banking.

  • ICBA last week urged the Treasury Department to examine credit union acquisitions of community banks and proposed legislation to implement an “exit fee” that would offset these transactions’ tax losses. Community bankers can continue urging Congress to hold hearings on credit union acquisitions via a customizable message to lawmakers on ICBA’s Wake Up page and recently published Wake Up Messaging Playbook.

  • The FHA is dropping a 0.5% fee on mortgage refinancing beginning Aug. 1, which had added about $1,400 to the cost of refinancing an average mortgage backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, according to Mortgage Bankers Association estimates. FHFA Acting Director Thompson said eliminating the fee -- imposed in December by then-Director Mark Calabria as part of a bid to raise money to return Fannie and Freddie to private control -- will "help families take advantage of the low-rate environment to save more money."