July 28, 2021

IBANYS Weekly E-Newsletter

Visit our website at www.ibanys.net to review our daily updates on COVID-19.

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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' "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. Two days of strong programming, terrific recreation (golf, boat tour to Boldt Castle). Complete details, including registration information and sponsorship opportunities, are available here: meeting brochure and sponsor form for more details. See below for all the information. Today's newsletter has the latest developments from Albany and Washington, including updates on new masking and vaccination mandates and news on rental assistance impacting tenants and landlords. We are asking New York community bankers to email their thoughts, suggestions, priorities and ideas for consideration as we begin to develop our 2022 state legislative and regulatory agenda. Email me directly at Johnw@ibanys.net, and copy Government Relations & Communications Director Steve Rice at Stever@ibanys.net. Please stay safe and healthy, and thank you for all you do for New York's community banking industry, those we serve . . .and for IBANYS, your association. John

Click for brochure & registration information Click here for sponsorship opportunities

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.

Meet some of our "Come Back Celebration" event sponsors....THANK YOU!!!

IBANYS Preferred Partner

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS & PREFERRED PARTNERS

Bringing employees back to the office? Make sure your technology is ready for the transition.  Vaccines are making it possible for many people to return to the office this summer, but it won’t be business as usual. The office of the future will look and perform very differently than it did less than a year and a half ago. Technology played a key role in helping employees transition efficiently and securely to home offices, and it will play a critical and strategic role in building the right environment for a successful return. This article from Hartman Executive Advisors presents five key points to consider when thinking about a return-to-work strategy. https://bizj.us/1qaqhi

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!   Click here to register

[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.  Click to Register

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. Register Here

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. Read More

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.  Click here to read article

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.  Click for full list of webinars

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

The New York State Legislature is out until the 2022 session begins next January -- unless, of course, there is a special session called before then. IBANYS Government Relations Committee met last week to review bills passed during the 2021 session and are awaiting action by the Governor. The Committee will meet again in the near future to discuss possible legislative and regulatory ideas and initiatives for inclusion in our 2022 state agenda. Governor Cuomo announced this afternoon that New York State will soon implement a vaccine mandate for all state workers as the delta variant surges across the country and state. His announcement comes one day after President Biden said he was considering a mandate requiring all federal workers get vaccinated. “New York will do the same,” Cuomo said at a press briefing. Similar to New York City’s expanded vaccine mandate, the plan will require state government employees to either get the shot or be tested regularly for COVID-19. The governor also said all patient-facing health care workers at state hospitals will be required to be vaccinated to work. There will be no alternative testing option for these employees. Cuomo called the move “an aggressive step, and there will be pushback.” Cuomo’s administration will work with state unions to implement the program quickly. It will take effect by Labor Day, or Sept. 6. The governor suggested all local governments implement a similar mandate. The Governor announced a new streamlined application process for New York’s rent relief program to help eliminate potential barriers for New Yorkers eligible to receive funding. It relaxes documentation standards for tenants and landlords and implements a streamlined process for submission of arrears documentation for multi-tenant landlords effective, July 27. Nearly $3 billion in emergency funding is available, but landlords and tenants say the money is nearly impossible to access. Nearly 500,000 households in New York City alone have rent arrears that collectively total more than $2.2 billion, according to an analysis of census data.

We would like to invite you to the 504 Debt Refinancing update on Thursday, July 29, 2021 at 3:00 pm Eastern. This event is being conducted by SBA’s Office of Capital Access to review important changes occurring soon! The call is open to 504 lenders, CDCs, and other interested parties. Click here to join   This link may be used multiple times by different people. We will send out a copy of the slide deck after the event, which will not be recorded.   This event will be hosted in Microsoft Teams Live. If you haven’t attended a Microsoft Teams Live event before: Please visit this Microsoft website and this 6-minute video that provide viewer tips and web browser information. In addition to providing a brief overview of the platform, they will show you how to adjust speaker volume. You can watch the event either on a modern web browser such as Chrome, Firefox, or Edge, or you can download a free version of Microsoft Teams. You do not need a Microsoft account. Instructions for watching the event on a web browser are included in the video referenced in the above bullet. For those of you who already have a Microsoft Teams desktop application: Unless you are an event producer or presenter, this event will not show up in your Teams Calendar. The easiest way for you to join the event may be for you to right click on the event link, copy the hyperlink into a web browser, and join anonymously.    Valerie Shoudy, Lender Relations Specialist       Grace Conners, Lender Relations Specialist Valerie.Shoudy@sba.gov                                          Grace.Conners@sba.gov U.S. Small Business Administration 224 Harrison St., Suite 506 | Syracuse, NY 13202

Washington Update

Grassroots outreach continues as recess approaches. As Congress works to clear the way for its August recess, ICBA continues encouraging community bankers to send customizable messages to lawmakers: IRS Reporting: Expressing opposition to the Biden administration’s plan to require banks to report customer account information to the IRS. Credit Unions: Urging lawmakers to hold hearings on credit union acquisitions of community banks. ECORA: Seeking support for the ECORA Act, which would exempt from taxation interest income on farm real estate and rural mortgage loans. With the federal foreclosure moratorium ending this Saturday, the Biden administration announced new loan modification options for homeowners with government-backed mortgages. HUD, Agriculture and Veterans Affairs will require or encourage mortgage servicers to offer borrowers new payment reduction options. The move more closely aligns the federal agencies with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac protections, which allow borrowers to resume their pre-COVID monthly payment after deferring up to 18 months of missed mortgage payments into a non-interest-bearing balloon. The CFPB said consumer applications for auto loans, new mortgages and revolving credit cards had mostly returned to pre-pandemic levels by May 2021. In an issue brief, the CFPB said prime and near-prime consumers are driving this recovery for all types of credit, while applications remain down from subprime and deep subprime borrowers. The report also provides a state-by-state analysis of the change in credit applications showing wide geographic variability in the demand for auto loans. Home Prices, Consumer Confidence Continue Gains.  Home Prices: Increased 16.6% in May, up from a 14.8% annual gain in April, according to the Case-Shiller index. House Prices: Rose 1.7% in May from the previous month and were up 18% from a year ago, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said. Consumer Confidence Index: Rose slightly, from 128.9 in June to 129.1, its highest level since February 2020, the Conference Board reported. Durable-Good Orders: Increased 0.8 percent in June following a 3.2 percent gain in May and are up 13 of the past 14 months, the Commerce Department said.