Oct 27 - CBA Today eNewsletter - Community Bankers Association of Georgia

The first-ever CBA Bourbon and Wine Tasting PAC fundraising event was held Monday night at Atlanta’s Buckhead Club. The event was a smashing success, with nearly 100 community bankers and CBA partner firms in attendance. Governor Brian Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp joined us for the evening and spent ample time visiting with every attendee. The Governor offered some remarks citing Georgia’s low unemployment numbers and strong economic turnaround post the Covid shutdown. CBA’s President and CEO John McNair spoke as well. John thanked all for their great support of the CBA PAC, noted amazing efforts made by Georgia’s community banks to distribute PPP funding, and asked all attendees to be actively engaged in the advocacy process over the next 12 months. Contributions to CBA’s PAC fund can still be made by accessing CBA PAC/PR Fund and to Kemp for Governor via Community Bankers for Kemp.

Meet the Winners of the Inaugural Charles "Chuck" Harwell Memorial Clay Shoot
Bankers and associate members, along with friends and family of Chuck Harwell came together at Burge Plantation last week to honor a dedicated banker and raise funds for CBA’s PAC Fund.

At the inaugural Charles “Chuck” Harwell Memorial Clay Shoot, CBA President John McNair praised Chuck for his dedication to his family, community banking, and supporting PAC events, particularly the clay shoot. Family members attending included his wife Robin Harwell, sons Caleb and Corey Harwell, stepson Brian Hughes, sister Cindy Corbin and niece Sarah Edge.

Participants enjoyed a fun day of friendly competition and fellowship. ATM Response was again the Premier Sponsor for the event. Special thanks to all sponsors for your generous support.

Congratulations to the winners!

Morning Flight: First Place Team
Lee Clark, Haynes Standard, Jerry Dowdy
& Brian Whitaker; First State Bank

Morning Flight: Second Place Team
Robert Harper, Chris Hodges, Cole Hodges,
& Michael Harrison; Bank of Wrightsville

Afternoon Flight: First Place Team
Sam Beall, Hunter Beall, Eric Haskins, & Erwin Orr; Bank of Dudley

Afternoon Flight: Second Place Team
Chris Giella, Ashley Smith, Scott Harpe, & Nick Tanner; Newton Federal Bank

Rep. Ferguson Introduced House Bill
to Bar IRA Reporting Proposal
Community Bankers Association of Georgia (CBA) extends our appreciation to Rep. Drew Ferguson for introducing the Prohibiting IRS Financial Surveillance Act of 2021 (H.R. 5586), which would prohibit the Secretary of the Treasury from requiring any financial institution to report the inflows and outflows of account funds. Separate legislation from Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) targeting the proposal includes a similar provision.

“On behalf of the CBA I would like to express my sincere thanks to Rep. Ferguson for his efforts on this bill. The Treasury proposal is a gross overreach, and all Americans know it and are expressing their dissatisfaction in record numbers,” stated John McNair, President & CEO, Community Bankers Association of Georgia (CBA).

Georgia’s community bankers do great things in their communities every day. Here is the latest on community outreach and news from CBA Members:

Memorial Hospital and Manor is pleased to recognize the generosity of First Port City Bank, Bainbridge, who donated $100,000 through Georgia HEART’s Rural Hospital Tax Credit Program. The donation brings the total amount given by First Port City Bank to the Memorial Hospital and Manor program to $261,207. Local market leaders from First Port City Bank presented the check.

Lauren Huckabee has joined First Port City Bank, Bainbridge, as a Teller in the bank’s Donalsonville location.

William (BJ) Coody, Jr., was promoted to Vice President at The Citizens Bank of Cochran/Community Bank of Dublin-Laurens County, Dublin.

Amy Thompson was promoted to Banking Officer/Branch Manager at The Citizens Bank of Cochran/Community Bank of Dublin-Laurens County, Dublin.

Jessica Rutledge has joined River City Bank, Rome, as Vice President/Commercial Relationship Manager.

Think CBA First for Your Professional Development Needs!
Be sure to think of CBA first when it comes to your training and Professional Development needs. Here are some upcoming CBA events:

Instructor:
Dianne Barton
Performance Solutions, Inc.

BSA/AML Fundamentals
December 15-17, 2021 | Macon or STREAM
Day I Topics:
•   The Role of FinCEN
•   BSA 101
•   The Tools of BSA
•   Money Laundering Methods in Today’s Environment
•   Review of the BSA Building Blocks and 5 Pillars
•   CIP, CDD, and EDD
•   Bank Secrecy Act: Legal Update & Enforcement Trends

Day II Topics
•   BSA Compliance Management Program
•   Risk Assessments and Risk Rating of Customers
•   BSA Reporting and Record Keeping
•   Currency Transaction Reporting (CTR) & Suspicious
  Activity Reporting (SAR)
•   Monetary Instrument Logs (MIL)
•   Wire Transfers
•   High-Risk Products and Services
•   Case Studies
•   Everything You wanted to ask a Banker and Auditor
about BSA
•   Tools Available for Today’s BSA Team

Day III Topics
•   Suspicious Activity Report – From Decision Making
to Writing the SAR
•   BSA and OFAC Training
•   Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) Compliance
•   Record Retention
•   Action Planning

Register here.

Webinar: Change Management with
Digital Transformation
October 28, 2021 | 2:00 PM
Explore the strategies to getting the most out of technology solutions, adapting business processes and aligning the people in your organization to maximize digital transformation. Click here to learn more and register.

FDIC Atlanta Region Regulatory Conference Call
Flood Insurance and Community Development under theCommunity Reinvestment Act (CRA)
November 18, 2021 | 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
The Division of Depositor and Consumer Protection’s Atlanta Regional Office will host a Regional Regulatory Conference Call and the topics under these two regulatory areas for discussion are:

Addressing the requirements of Flood Insurance for financial institution lenders, coverage for multiple buildings, contents coverage requirements, cross-collateralization clauses implications, Civil Monetary Penalties for noncompliance, Compliance Management System best practices, and available resources.
Defining Community Development under CRA, discussing examples of Community Development loans, investments, and services; discussing best practices for identifying and documenting Community Development activities; and CRA Community Development available resources.

Click here for more info and to register.

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Here are some of the latest news stories relevant to community banking and the financial services industry:

October 27, 2021