Pub. 6 2018 Issue 3

19 The Community Banker The community banking industry recently enjoyed a major legislative victory with the passage of S. 2155. What insights can you offer about how this and other legislative progress will affect community banking? The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, S. 2155, is a community banker victory, and we want to thank all of the community bankers who stood up, told their story and advo- cated for our industry. Suffice it to say, our years of advocacy included hundreds of meetings with policymakers on Capitol Hill and at the White House, tens of thousands of community banker messages to lawmakers, congressional testimony, joint state association letters, petitions, articles, op-eds and more. But it was all worth it. By working together and pressing tirelessly for needed change, we will be able to better serve our customers and communities. There are beneficial regulatory relief measures in this law for community banks of all sizes. It will unravel many of the suffocating regulatory burdens our nation’s community banks face and puts community banks in a much better position to unleash their full economic potential. Many of the provisions that were included in the law reflect ICBA’s Plan for Prosperity regulatory relief platform, which was originally launched in February 2013. ICBA’s Communities First Act preceded it. As a community banker who also served as ICBA chairman, I can tell you that regulatory relief has been job No. 1 at ICBA for a very long time, and will continue to be well into the future. But as you know, ICBA’s quest for commonsense regulation is not over. While this new law will make a positive difference for community banks, there is plenty more work ahead of us. We will continue look- ing for ways to create and promote an environment where communi- ty banks flourish, and we won’t take no for an answer. Where is future progress needed? As I said, I’m very focused on innovation and education. We need to continue to innovate as an industry, and ICBA is here to help shepherd and serve community banks in this space. In fact, we’ve dedicated significant resources to it. ICBA brought on Kevin Tweddle, ICBA’s chief innovation officer, a year ago. His role is to help community banks partner with financial technology solutions that work for them. We also released a Fintech Strategy Roadmap in March, written in collaboration with Hunton & Williams LLP, to help community banks navigate all of the options that are available to them. I encourage all community bankers to look at the roadmap, if they haven’t already. It’s the first community bank resource that takes a deep dive into the legal and compliance elements associated with fintech partnerships. I also believe that the core processor relationship is a critical com- ponent of financial technology and the future of our industry. ICBA re- cently released a Core Processor Resource Guide and Best Practices for working with cores and managing the partnership. Again, I encourage all community bankers to take advantage of these ICBA resources. In terms of advocacy, there is still more work to be done. We need to get the rules written as quickly as possible for S. 2155, so communi- ty bankers can leverage the benefits of the new law and help promote economic vitality in their communities. ICBA has already sent letters to the regulators and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau advo- cating for its expeditious implementation. We will also continue to urge Congress to end the credit union industry’s unwarranted federal tax subsidy and oppose expanded powers for the industry, as long as it remains exempt from taxation and the Community Reinvestment Act. And we’ll continue raising con- cerns with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s proposed special-purpose national bank charter for fintech companies, and ensuring that the OCC does not proceed without explicit statutory authority from Congress. A strong farm bill is also needed. We’ll continue to call on Congress to pass a farm bill that provides stability to the volatile farm sector and to prevent the Farm Credit System from abusing its tax-advan- taged status. Clearly the list is long, and there is plenty more that needs to be accomplished, but with the help of our members and the ICBA staff, we will achieve more community bank victories in the coming years. How can bankers engage effectively in grassroots advocacy? Three words – ‘tell your story.’ One of the reasons why ICBA and community bankers were able to get generational communi- ty bank regulatory relief and tax reform through Congress was by making our voices heard through our individual stories. Each community bank is unique, and your narrative demon- strates that. ICBA makes it easy by providing community banks with resources to advocate, promote their banks, and stay in the know. Our Be Heard Grassroots Action Center makes it easy to send a letter to a member of Congress with the click of a button, and our Marketing and Communications Toolkit makes it easy for community banks to promote their brand throughout the year. By standing up and making our voices heard through exam- ples and storytelling, we will make great change happen for our industry. Keep up the great work, community bankers! What are upcoming opportunities in banking? I’ll go back to innovation and education. Opportunities abound, and it’s up to community bankers to take advantage of opportunities that are out there. We hold the keys to prosperity in our hands; we just need to turn on the ignition. Succession planning and grooming our industry’s future leaders is a big part of this. That’s why I’m so excited to be part of ICBA’s LEAD FWD event powered by Community Banker University. It will be held Sept. 17-18 in Louisville, Kentucky. It’s a privilege to be a community banker – that’s why I see such a great opportunity to promote this profession and get more people excited about careers in community banking. And we’ll do that by showing the impact community bankers make in people’s lives, and how they are an integral part of the community. That’s another reason why I think ICBA’s Go Local initiative is so important. We need to continue to show how the community bank business model affects local communities. There’s a natural fit here for the millennial generation and beyond. We just need to get out there and continue to tell that story. If community banks aren’t already participating in Go Local or our Go Local Wednesday initiative, I encourage them to learn more at icba.org/golocal.