Pub. 4 2016 Issue 1

16 The Community Banker www.mibonline.org Fine Points ICBA HAS YOUR BACK By Camden Fine, President and CEO of ICBA H aving your back. That’s a principle that means a lot to ICBA, and it’s one that means a lot to me personally. I learned about it firsthand as a cadet at the Virginia Military Institute. At VMI, we absolutely had to rely on each other on post and off, whether perform- ing a difficult military maneuver or gathering together informally off campus. That’s why community bank- ing resonates so strongly with me. Community bankers aren’t just there for their customers during work hours on weekdays. You are there for them all day and every day to ensure they continue to thrive in every way. That’s true of community bank- ers everywhere. It’s what makes you community bankers. Just as you have your cus- tomers’ backs, ICBA has your back. It’s what ICBA does. It’s why the association was cre- ated. Without fail and without hesitation, you can count on ICBA to vigorously defend and promote your community bank and your industry’s reputation. No other national association can be counted on to be there every single time your interests are threatened—no matter who opposes us. Of course, the megabanks want the public to believe that all banks are the same. But we all know that all banks are not the same. Community banks cannot and should not be as- sociated with those that nearly destroyed our financial system and economy. Your institutions had nothing to do with the toxic mortgage-backed securities, credit default swaps and syn- thetic derivatives that tanked the global economy eight years ago. You and your institutions never strayed from securely and honestly serving the true and essential financial needs of your customers and communities. We cannot and will not allow megabanks to tarnish your ster- ling reputations. We must not allow them to usurp the positive image that community banks have rightfully earned among policymakers and the public. Thanks to your good work and the outspoken, persistent efforts of ICBA, nearly everyone understands that Wall Street megabanks and Main Street community banks are funda- mentally different. Today even the regulators openly acknowl- edge the distinct differences hardwired into those separate business models. This is why ICBA exists. Com- munity banks must have distinct representation in Washington. That’s precisely why ICBA and its nationwide members have achieved an extraordinary num- ber of policy accomplishments for our industry, both this past year as well as consistently over so many years. ICBA has, virtual- ly alone, spearheaded a success- ful push for tiered regulation for community banks—in which banking rules are proportion- ately scaled to an institution’s size and risk. One-size-fits-all regulation doesn’t work, and ICBA has successfully pressed that argument to policymakers. Certainly, ICBA and commu- nity banks have more work to do in Washington, but we will get it done. Our institutions and communities will prevail. With and through ICBA, the only national association with the exclusive mission to ensure that community banks continue to flourish, we can accomplish almost anything when we stand together—when we have each other’s backs. ICBA has your back, and we always will. By our heritage and record of accomplishments, it is the essence of who we are and what we do. Related Reading Read last month’s Fine Points column “A Digital Danger”, at www.independentbanker.org .