• For your convenience, Here is an overview presentation on EIDL repayment and servicing from the Syracuse District Office of the SBA. Questions? Contact Grace Conners, Lender Relations Specialist: 315-471-9941;  grace.conners@sba.gov

• We’re pleased to share with you this summary of recent tax developments from our friends at The Bonadio Group, which may be of interest to New York community bankers. 

• As we gear up for the start of both the state and federal legislative sessions, we are happy to share with you the 2023 NYS Legislative and Congressional calendars:  1) U.S. Senate and House calendar; 2)  https://nyassembly.gov/leg/docs/session_2023_calendar.pdf. 

• Community Bankers Webinar Network powered by Fin Ed, with whom IBANYS partners, has posted their 2023 Webinar schedule. Please click here to see the current list of offerings.

• We are finalizing our speakers and meeting agenda for the Compliance Conference scheduled for February 7. Watch you emails for detailed program agenda and registration information. See “Save the Dates” information below for all IBANYS upcoming events/meetings. PLEASE NOTE: convention dates are June 12-14, 2023 ---- Previous newsletters had incorrect dates.

IBANYS is proud to announce our new partnership with Rivel, Inc., a market research company with the world’s largest sample Banking Benchmarks Study.

Along with price discounts for new subscription from IBANYS members, Rivel has agreed to provide each of our MEMBER BANKS a Retail Prospect Report extract. These extract reports will be sent to 5 banks each week through the end of the year. These reports will provide information that banks can review for use with their marketing strategies.

We look forward to working with Rivel, Inc. and introducing their platform of reports to our banks in NYS.

Any questions, please call me at 716.880.0518 (cell) or 518.436.4646 (office).

If you have specific questions regarding Rivel, please contact Dailey Betz at 641.529.2380 or email dbetz@rivel.com

John

MEMBER BANKS

Our staff of Catskill Hudson Bank celebrated at our Holiday Party in Saugerties at Diamond Mills. 

This location has a beautiful Banquet Hall, Hotel and Tavern overlooking a waterfall.

It was our first gathering in three years. Everyone was glad to reunite, see old friends and meet new ones. There was great food, lots of dancing, recognition awards and fantastic prizes to giveaway.

Mario Martinez, Chairman & CEO and family

Kevin McLaren, President and family

Diamond Mills, Saugerties, NY

Does your bank have news you’d like to share? If so, please send us an email (lindag@ibanys.net) and your news will be placed in our weekly e-newsletter.

We look forward to sharing your news and all that you do for and in your communities.

IBANYS MEETINGS

• State bank supervisors have appointed New York State Department of Financial Services Superintendent Adrienne Harris to serve as the state banking representative on the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), effective January 2023.  Created under Dodd Frank, the FSOC monitors the safety and stability of the nation's financial system, identifies risks to the system and coordinates responses to any threat. Dodd-Frank Act requires one of the five non-voting members of the FSOC be a state banking supervisor selected by state banking supervisors. James Cooper, President and CEO of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), said: “Superintendent Harris’ background and experience at both the federal and state level will be an asset for the council as it manages emerging risk during a time of economic uncertainty. I am confident that our nation’s financial system will be well served by this appointment https://www.csbs.org/newsroom/state-bank-supervisors-appoint-new-york-superintendent-adrienne-harris-fsoc

• New York's retail cannabis industry is still in its infancy, with the first retail businesses are expected to open in the coming weeks, but a number of questions remain. Regulators are already making changes that are meant to enable home delivery. Lawmakers are also worried the current penalties for selling cannabis without a license will undermine the burgeoning marketplace, which is expected to be a multibillion-dollar sector of the economy. Read More

• The State Legislature is contemplating an end-of-year special session to approve raises for lawmakers set to take office in January, potentially increasing their pay from the current $110,000 to $130,000. The increase was part of an original schedule of increases in 2019 that was blocked by the courts. Gov. Hochul favors the increase, noting: "I believe that they deserve a pay raise.  They work extraordinarily hard. It’s a year-round job. I’ve been with them many times in their districts, and they work very hard, and they deserve it." Lawmakers are also weighing a ban on outside income as they discuss potentially increasing their salary in a special session of the Legislature.  Read More

• Nearly 2.7 million New Yorkers (13.9% of the State’s population) lived in poverty in 2021, according to State Comptroller DiNapoli’s report that looks at poverty trends for the last decade in the Empire State. It’s the first in a series of reports  examining poverty in New York.

• A new Siena College poll released Tuesday morning found that New York voters have a laundry list of items they want Gov. Kathy Hochul to tackle in 2023 as she begins her first full term following the closest gubernatorial election in the state in a generation. Half of voters believe New York is heading in the wrong direction while a combined majority of more than 60% believe the state's fiscal condition is fair or poor — a reflection of how people view the broader economy at the moment. Hochul’s favorability rating and approval rating were both slightly down from October, but remain in positive territory: 45 percent to 43 percent, and 49 percent to 44 percent, respectively.  Read More

• DFS has issued a proposed regulation on Cybersecurity ("Proposed Second Amendment To 23 NYCRR 500 Cybersecurity Requirements For Financial Services Companies"). IBANYS would appreciate comments & feedback on the proposal from you and/or your CISO. Please review: https://www.dfs.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2022/10/rp23a2_text_20221109_0.pdf.

• A coalition of progressive groups is pushing for “a more just economy, especially for low-income communities of color which have historically struggled in the face of red-lining. https://nystateofpolitics.com/state-of-politics/new-york/politics/2022/12/02/new-york-coalition-pushes-for-economic-justice-in-next-legislative-session. The goal of the New York State Community Equity Agenda is to make changes to the state’s banking and finance laws. The New Economy Project, which coordinates the coalition, cited five areas under the heading “public money for public good” including: 1) Passage of the NY Public Banking Act; 2) Government crackdown on persistent redlining and other racial wealth extraction; 3) Increased funding for New York’s community development financial institutions (CDFIs); 4) the immediate release of funds committed by the governor in 2020; Support for worker-owned businesses, and Legislation to expand community land trusts and other forms of social housing. For more information:  www.equityagendany.org.

• With the Federal Open Market Committee meeting concluding today, the Fed is  expected  to announce an end to its string of 75-basis-point rate increases. Speculation has been that after four straight three-quarter-point interest rate hikes, the Fed is set to announce a smaller half-point increase in its key rate, a first step toward dialing back its efforts to combat inflation. https://apnews.com/article/inflation-business-jerome-powell-government-and-politics-81b03a1a55ae8a934e2df45120912133?mkt_tok=ODUwLVRBQS01MTEAAAGIr9wWE0myB-A0n3Up6x3B2sq13Ejj4gYthziBet-06sir9fQkAyZ5f0h3Jnux7PyUUK9SUDPR3ouqB085x2Ao42ojwMuGMy8pTLSTeeR-kMRR

• Top appropriators struck a deal yesterday night on a government funding framework critical to finalizing a mammoth year-end spending package,  Politico reports. Democrats and Republicans reportedly reached a topline spending agreement for a fiscal 2023 omnibus late Tuesday. Senate Appropriations Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT) said negotiators had "reached a bipartisan, bicameral framework that should allow us to finish an omnibus appropriations bill that can pass the House and Senate and be signed into law by the president. https://rollcall.com/2022/12/13/deal-reached-on-framework-for-omnibus-spending-bill/?utm_source=morningheadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_content=12/14/2022

• Senate Appropriations Chairman Leahy (D-VT) said lawmakers came to an agreement on a "bipartisan, bicameral framework" that would allow the Senate to finish an omnibus government funding bill that could be passed by both chambers. The GOP's lead negotiator on the bill, Sen. Shelby (R-AL), said the package should be finished by Dec. 23 "if all goes well," but the House could pass stopgap funding measures as soon as today to buy time to finish and keep the government running through Dec. 23.  Politico;  Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said lawmakers will likely attach legislation to change the Electoral Count Act to the omnibus package, which is designed to avoid a repeat of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Roll Call

• ICBA released new polling conducted by Morning Consult indicating consumers oppose controversial legislation to apply routing restrictions to credit card transactions — which would end popular credit card rewards programs. 89% of adults who receive credit card rewards say they value their rewards program; 65% of voters say ending credit card rewards would impact the economy; 74% of voters say changing the technology that credit card servicers use would affect the economy, and 68% say it would affect inflation;  61% of Americans say consumers would not benefit from overhauling the card networks, including a bipartisan majority of Democrats (52%), independents (67%), and Republicans (65%); 57% of voters do not trust the merchants who would profit from the change to pass on their cost savings to customers, including a bipartisan majority of Democrats (53%), independents (60%), and Republicans (58%).  The Credit Card Competition Act (Durbin, D-IL; Marshall, R-KS) would extend Durbin Amendment routing restrictions to credit cards. ICBA has repeatedly said the bill would end credit card rewards programs, require community banks to help subsidize the changes it would impose on the payments system, limit access to credit, and hand over the security of the nation’s credit card system to merchants.  ICBA is encouraging community bankers to use its  Be Heard grassroots action center to urge their members of Congress to oppose the Durbin Amendment expansion. Community bankers can also continue  calling on lawmakers  topass the SAFE Banking Act, which would establish a cannabis banking safe harbor in states where cannabis is legal.

• While the National Defense Authorization Act excludes ICBA-advocated cannabis banking legislation and ICBA-opposed language to expand the Durbin Amendment, the debate over both initiatives continues. Cannabis Banking: Through ICBA’s Be Heard grassroots action center, community bankers can continue calling on lawmakers to pass the SAFE Banking Act, which would establish a cannabis banking safe harbor in states where cannabis is legal. . .Durbin Amendment: ICBA is also encouraging community bankers to urge opposition to legislation that would extend the Durbin Amendment to credit cards, imposing new costs, raising security risks, and ending credit card rewards programs.

• The U.S. Senate Banking Committee approved three nominees for theFDIC board of directors, advancing them to the full Senate. They were: the nomination of Acting Chairman Martin Gruenberg for Chairman on a 13-11 vote, and the nominations of Republicans Travis Hill and Jonathan McKernan via voice votes. The nominees are expected to be confirmed by the Senate later this month. https://www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-money/2022/12/14/powell-shoots-for-2-00073813

• Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo is reportedly being considered as the Biden administration’s next Director of the National Economic Council, a role he previously held during the Obama administration. Adeyemo would replace Brian Deese, who is expected to leave the post next year, but consideration of Adeyemo’s job switch reportedly has not yet been presented to President Biden. Bloomberg

• According to the longer-term outlook for state and local budgets remains uncertain depending on federal monetary policy decisions and ongoing state actions, especially as federal assistance programs end and as temporary changes caused by the pandemic wane.  https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/state-tax-and-economic-review-2022-quarter-2

• The overwhelming majority of top leaders at large U.S and Canadian banks expect a prolonged downturn in 2023, according to a recent survey. Almost none of them expect it to be particularly harsh, though. Read story