Executive Briefings

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Steve Bridges, CEO


EXECUTIVE
BRIEFING

A message from the CBA's CEO, Steve Bridges

From time to time CBA member banks are provided with Executive Briefings from the President and CEO containing timely information about important banking issues and/or the activities of your Association.  These Briefings are provided by e-mail on an as-needed basis, and I hope that you will find these periodic updates to be informative and beneficial.  Please provide CBA with your feedback about these briefings.

May 8, 2008 

Georgia Community Bankers Visit Georgia Congressional Delegation

Last week, a group of Georgia community bankers and I attended ICBA’s Washington Policy Summit, along with almost 300 other ICBA leadership community bankers from around the country.  The ICBA Washington Policy Summit is an annual event in our nation’s capital where community bankers from the various states take the opportunity to meet in person with members of their Congressional delegations and with regulatory officials to discuss the most pressing policy issues and perspectives of the community banking industry.

The Georgia community bankers attending the Policy Summit and meeting with members of the Georgia delegation included Chairman-Elect of CBA, Joe Gore, CEO and President of First State Bank, Wrens; the two Georgia directors of ICBA Danny Flowers, President of Capital Bank, Fort Oglethorpe and Bran Thompson, President of South Georgia Bank, Glennville; and ICBA Standing Committee Members Jim Powell, CEO and President of Highland Commercial Bank, Marietta and Paul Bennett, Vice Chairman of Alma Exchange Bank & Trust, Alma.  The Group was able to meet with both Senators and six Congressmen, (including Congressmen Jim Marshall and Tom Price, both members of the House Financial Services Committee) and/or their banking staffers during our two days on the Hill.

The primary issues discussed during the meetings with the Georgia delegation were: our concern with the efforts to expand credit union powers without credit unions being subject to income taxation and the requirements of the Community Reinvestment Act; our continued concern that Congress maintain its longstanding position that there should be a separation between banking and commerce by closing the ILC loop hole; concerns that community banks not have to bear increased cost and regulatory burden as a result of any of the bills attempting to deal with the subprime mortgage crisis; and concerns about many aspects of the Treasury’s Blueprint on Regulatory Restructuring.

The Senators, Congressmen and staffers were very receptive to the comments of the Group on the various issues.  We want to thank them for taking time from their busy schedules to meet with us.


Credit Union Bill (CURIA –lite) Pulled from House Floor Calendar

On Friday before the Summit began, House lawmakers scheduled a floor vote for H.R. 5519, dubbed CURIA-lite, by-passing the process for holding public committee hearings, a move normally reserved for non-controversial bills.  You should recall that CURIA is the credit union powers expansion bill, disguised as a regulatory relief bill, which we have been fighting for several years.  H.R. 5519 is somewhat less ambitious than the original CURIA bill in some respects, but still would result in a significant expansion of the business (commercial) lending powers of credit unions.  As a result of intense lobbying by the community bankers at the Washington Policy Summit, and those back home in their communities, the CURIA-lite bill was pulled from the House floor calendar.  Barney Frank, Chairman of the House Financial Service Committee, acknowledged the effectiveness of the lobbying efforts of community bankers on the bill, during a morning speech during the Summit.  We will need to remain vigilant in our efforts to assure that bills such as this, further exacerbating the unlevel competitive field with credit unions, do not get passed. 

 

To read past Executive Briefings, please click here.