ICBA News, sponsored by WebEquity Solutions—House Passes Bill Easing Privacy Notice Burden

Too-Big-To-Fail
ICBA Backs Call for Clarity on Holder’s Too-Big-To-Jail Comments
ICBA said it agrees with a letter from Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) seeking clarification from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder of his statement that the size of too-big-to-fail financial firms inhibits Justice Department prosecutions on Wall Street. In a statement, ICBA President and CEO Cam Fine said ICBA and the nation’s community banks want answers on why Wall Street financial institutions should be allowed to operate above the law.

“While community banks are accountable to regulators, market forces and the law, the megabanks apparently are held to a different standard,” Fine said. “Their too-big-to-fail status provides them a taxpayer-funded guarantee against failure, while their interconnectedness in the financial system appears to ensure that they are also considered too big to jail.”

ICBA strongly supports policies to address the problem of too-big-to-fail and to rein in large banks and financial firms to level the playing field with community banks. Fine said in his statement that not only should these institutions be held accountable, they should also be downsized and split up to help restore sanity to our financial system. Read ICBA Release.

Advocacy
ICBA Supports House Passage of Bill Easing Privacy Notice Burden
ICBA said it supports the House passage of legislation that would eliminate a legal provision requiring financial institutions to provide annual privacy notices to customers even when their policies have not changed. The Eliminate Privacy Notice Confusion Act (H.R. 749), which passed on a voice vote, would relieve community banks and other financial institutions from unnecessary paperwork burdens while minimizing consumer confusion.

H.R. 749, sponsored by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.), would require certain financial institutions to send notices to their customers only in the event of a change in their privacy policies or practices. The House approved identical legislation late last year, though the Senate did not take it up before the end of the 112th Congress.

As part of ICBA’s Plan for Prosperity legislative agenda, the measure is one of many proposals designed to ease excessive, redundant and costly regulations and to help community banks dedicate more of their resources to promoting economic growth. Read ICBA Release.

ICBA NewsWatch Today is sponsored by WebEquity Solutions:
Competing for small business loans, building an appraisal values database and automating your ALLL process are hot issues examiners, auditors and lenders are facing today. Find out how WebEquity Solutions, an ICBA Preferred Service Provider, addresses all these areas. Visit us at Booth #456 at the ICBA National Convention and Techworld or email info@webequitysolutions.com.

Credit Unions
ICBA Voices Opposition to CU Supplemental Capital Bill
ICBA told lawmakers it strongly opposes legislation that would allow credit unions to raise capital from outside investors, discarding their longstanding reliance on retained earnings. In a letter to members of the House of Representatives, ICBA wrote that the so-called Capital Access for Small Business Act (H.R. 719) would fundamentally change the limited, member-focused character of credit unions.

In its letter, ICBA noted that H.R. 719:

undermines the cooperative character of credit unions
is a blatant abuse of the credit union tax subsidy
would benefit only the largest credit unions
ignores the many red flags raised by the National Credit Union Administration’s Supplemental Capital Working Group.

Congress
ICBA, Coalition Back Crop Insurance Protections
ICBA and a coalition of other financial and agricultural organizations expressed support for strong, meaningful and affordable crop insurance protection for farmers and ranchers. In a joint letter to congressional leaders, the organizations said they oppose any changes to crop insurance that would discourage producer participation or undermine private-sector delivery.

Farmers, ranchers, their lenders, input suppliers and other stakeholders agree that crop insurance protection should remain a viable, affordable tool for managing risk, the associations wrote. They noted that crop insurance is the cornerstone of most farmers’ risk-management portfolios and that the program’s public-private partnership allows for timely service to producers when they need it most. Read Joint Letter.

Convention
ICBA Convention Continues in Vegas
The 2013 ICBA National Convention and Techworld at the Wynn Las Vegas and Encore continued Tuesday with a variety of workshops, tours, and state and regional association events. More is on tap today, including the release of ICBA’s 2013 policy resolutions and remarks from ICBA President and CEO Cam Fine.

More than 3,300 community bankers and industry leaders are in Las Vegas for the event, which runs through Friday. It is the largest gathering of community bankers in the world and features an all-star lineup of speakers, more than 60 educational workshops and numerous networking opportunities.

Highlights of the convention include remarks from national newsmakers, including Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray, Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry, FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg, legendary NFL quarterback Joe Montana, Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales.

Stay tuned to up-to-the-minute information via ICBA’s convention website, the ICBA 2013 Mobile App and the #ICBALV13 hashtag on Twitter.

Convention
ICBA Twitter Contest Offers Free 2014 Convention Registration
Want to go to the 2014 ICBA Convention and Techworld in Honolulu, Hawaii, for free? Follow these instructions for your chance to win:

Be a Twitter user or sign up for Twitter at www.twitter.com.
Follow us @ICBA.
Tweet during the 2013 ICBA National Convention and Techworld in Las Vegas using the hashtag #ICBALV13!

The deadline to enter is noon (Eastern time) Thursday, March 21. The winner will be announced the next day via ICBA’s Twitter handle. For contest specifics, check out the social media section of the ICBA convention website.

Important: Please make sure you are easily identifiable through your Twitter account. For example: include your bank name, title, first and last name, and/or a head shot.

Regulation
Study Supports Cost-Benefit Analyses for New Regs
An ICBA-advocated proposal that would require financial regulators to subject proposed rules to a more rigorous cost-benefit analysis is a fundamental building block to ensure regulations work as intended, according to a U.S. Chamber of Commerce report. The report notes that regulators must understand how their rules work in the real world if regulations are to be effective.

ICBA has long supported this proposal, which is a key plank in the ICBA Plan for Prosperity legislative platform. Among its provisions, the association’s Plan for Prosperity would require cost-benefit analyses to take into account the impact of new regulations on the smallest banks and to identify and assess available alternatives.

Under ICBA-supported legislation introduced by Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), regulators would have to provide clear justification for new rules and determine the economic impacts of their proposals, including their effects on growth and net job creation. ICBA strongly supported similar legislation introduced in the 112th Congress.

Regulation
CFPB, SEC Nominees Testify Before Committee
The Senate Banking Committee heard from President Obama’s nominees to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Securities and Exchange Commission. CFPB Director Richard Cordray said the bureau is working to reduce the compliance burdens of new rules and to better understand how to write practical rules that deliver value for consumers. The nominee for SEC chairman, Mary Jo White, said rigorous economic analysis of new rules is important and should inform and guide the regulator’s decisions.

Fraud
OCC Says Fictitious Correspondence in Circulation
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said fictitious correspondence allegedly issued by the agencies is in circulation. The correspondence, regarding funds purportedly under the control of the OCC and other government entities, may be distributed via e-mail, fax or postal mail.

Any document claiming that the OCC is involved in holding any funds for the benefit of any individual or entity is fraudulent, the agency said. The OCC does not participate in the transfer of funds for or on behalf of individuals, business enterprises or governmental entities.

Regulation
FDIC Clarifies Proposed Call Report Changes
The FDIC issued a financial institution letter on proposed revisions to the call report that generally would take effect in June 2013. The proposed reporting changes include a question on whether reporting institutions offer separate deposit products to consumers and businesses, a request for information on international remittance transfers, additional data to be reported by large and highly complex institutions, and more. All comments must be submitted by April 22.

Commentary
‘Too Big to Fail’ a Myth? What a Relief
ICBA President and CEO Cam Fine wrote that an American Banker editorial disputing the existence of the too-big-to-fail problem—is great news. In his own editorial on the American Banker website, Fine wrote that the end of too-big-to-fail would mean greater market discipline in the financial system and would allow for normalized monetary policy after years of accommodations for megabanks.

But in a word of warning, he noted that if too-big-to-fail did not exist, the Justice Department would no longer have to hesitate to pursue prosecutions on Wall Street. “So on second thought, Wall Street, the end of ‘too big to fail’ might be one secret you should keep to yourselves,” Fine wrote. Read Fine’s Op-Ed.

Commentary
Fine: Wall Street in Denial
The megabanks’ policy brief denying that they benefit from taxpayer-funded subsidies is the latest sign that Wall Street is in denial about its too-big-to-fail problem, ICBA President and CEO Cam Fine wrote in a blog post. The massive financial firms and their associations say that the Dodd-Frank Act that they vilified has solved the problem, neglecting to mention that the five largest banks have grown by nearly 20 percent since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2007. Read Finer Points.

ICBA News
ICBA and CPI Card Group Extend Agreement
ICBA announced that it has extended its agreement with CPI Card Group as an ICBA Preferred Service Provider. As part of the agreement, ICBA-member community banks will continue to receive exclusive pricing to CPI’s credit and debit card manufacturing services. CPI Card Group is a global, full-service manufacturer that focuses on the unique needs of community banks. Read ICBA Release.

Poll
This Week’s Quick Poll
Take this week’s Quick Poll on too-big-to-jail, and view results from the previous poll on community bank advocacy. View the Archive.

Education
Loan Review Seminar Coming Soon
ICBA is hosting an upcoming classroom seminar on structuring the loan process to ensure timely identification of problem credits, asset quality and accuracy. “Loan Review—Implementing Best Practices,” scheduled for April 16-17 in Minneapolis, also will cover well-defined classification guidelines that ensure consistent loan ratings and accounting for the allowance for loan and lease losses to comply with generally accepted accounting principles. Register Online.

Products and Services
Free Webinar: Backing up Buy, Sell or Consolidate Decisions
Today almost every bank is faced with the dilemma of whether they should buy, sell or consolidate branches. Bank Intelligence, an ICBA Preferred Service Provider, is hosting a webinar on March 21, to present specific metrics and a practical approach of analysis to substantiate these critical decisions. Register Online.