IBAT's Bottom Line January 26, 2009

Banking Commissioner to be Sworn in during Legislative Luncheon

Charles Cooper will be sworn in as the 30th Texas Commissioner of Banking at ceremonies during the IBAT/TBA Legislative Luncheon on Tuesday, February 10.  Governor Rick Perry will administer the oath of office.

If you haven’t yet signed up for the legislative briefing and luncheon, there is still time.  Click here for the registration link.  In addition to the registration link, you will find a schedule of the day’s activities. 

Let’s show our legislators the strength of community banking in Texas and welcome our new Commissioner of Banking Charles Cooper.  For questions or further information, call Mae Beth at 512.474.6889.
 

S-Corp Conference Call Replay Available

Community bankers can access a replay of ICBA's conference call on the new Subchapter S bank term sheet for the TARP Capital Purchase Program. The call includes Interim Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability Neel Kashkari and Capital Purchase Program Manager Don McLellan.
Community bankers can call (800) 240-4186 and enter 11125438 for the conference ID to listen to the replay at any time. If you receive a busy signal, please try again later.
 
Go Direct Campaign Announces Community Ambassadors Program

The U.S. Department of Treasury’s Go Direct campaign has announced a new recognition program for financial institutions promoting direct deposit to senior citizens, people with disabilities, veterans and others receiving federal benefits.

The six-month Community Ambassadors Program launched in January and is aimed at community and medium-sized banks.  It will provide banks with a flexible way to demonstrate their commitment to the community’s financial health while gaining recognition from Treasury’s Go Direct campaign.

Banks that successfully participate will receive a letter of recognition and certificate from Go Direct.

Participants will be offered a variety of options for sharing information about the benefits of direct deposit with their customers, including ordering free Go Direct materials.

For more information and registration, banks are asked to go to www.GoDirect.org  by January 31.

Business Continuity Webinar

CHUBB & IBAT FS HOST WEBINAR
“Banks, Business Continuity & Insurance”

Don’t miss “Banks, Business Continuity & Insurance” a webinar
co-hosted by Chubb Insurance Group and IBAT FS, Wednesday, February 4th at 10 a.m.

George Allport, Vice-President of Chubb’s Department of Financial Institutions will present a thought provoking conversation regarding resumption of operations following damage to your bank’s branch, home office or data center.  The discussion will include anticipated expenses as well as how most insurance programs will address the challenge. Register Online

Question: If there are 2 P.O.D. beneficiaries on an account when the account owner dies and one of the beneficiary predeceased the account owner, should all the funds go to the first beneficiary or should the living beneficiary get half and the other half to the deceased beneficiary's estate?  There is only one account owner.

To find out the answer, click here.

Financial Literacy For Seniors

Did you know that IBAT has developed a Financial Literacy Kit for Seniors? We would like to pilot its use this April. In preparation, we would like to know if any of our members have good relationships with their local senior centers and retirement centers. If you would like to be part of our pilot simply email Mary Lange at mlange@ibat org and say you have an interest in helping with the Financial Literacy Kit for Seniors.

Treasury volatility is up this week as the long-end of the yield curve was pushed higher following a general sell-off in government securities.  After Tuesday's rout in the financial sector, Treasuries were hit hard as rumors of President Obama’s economic stimulus plan indicated further bail out funds for the battered mega-banks on Wall Street. Read More in the Baker Market Update.

Although this information has been obtained from sources, which we believe to be reliable, we do not guarantee its accuracy. This is for information purposes only and is not intended as an offer or solicitation with respect to the purchase or sale of any security.

Marketed by Dial Dunkin & Associates; ANICO provides credit insurance related products to insure loans against Loss of Life, Disability, and involuntary unemployment.  Provides training programs for credit related insurance products to increase fee income.  ANICO has been a leader in the industry for over 60 years.  For more information, visit their website at www.anico.com or contact Dwight Judy at 800-899-6502.

IT Security Summit
February 26 - San Antonio
More Information . . .

Topics:

• The Academy Awards for best security movies and what they can teach us.
• A day in the life of a social engineer professional—how easy is it to get into your bank?
• Emerging Cyber Threats for 2009.
• Compliance Central—keeping it all together.
• Panel Discussion—impact of today’s economy on community banks - does it impact your information security?

On Thursday, January 15, 2009, the United States Tax Court announced its decision in the TEFRA disallowance case styled Vainisi v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Ruling in favor of the IRS, the Court declared that the 20% TEFRA disallowance does in fact continue to apply after three years to banks that have made qualified subchapter S subsidiary elections (meaning they are wholly-owned subsidiaries of holding companies and that their parent holding companies have elected to be taxed as S corporations). Interestingly though, Judge Foley’s opinion also appeared to suggest that for Subchapter S banks without holding companies, the 20% TEFRA disallowance might only apply for the initial three years after the bank’s S election. The petitioners in the case have not yet announced if they plan to appeal the decision.

A detailed article outlining the Vainisi opinion and analyzing the implications of the Court’s ruling will be included in the next issue of the Subchapter S Bank Assocation Report, which is scheduled for publication at the end of January. In the meantime, if anyone has questions or comments regarding the TEFRA ruling, please feel free to contact Bruce Toppin, Executive Director of the Subchapter S Bank Association, at (210) 228-9961 or by email at btoppin@subsbanks.org.

All 2008 Sub S webinar CDs are available for sale, and for a limited time you can purchase three CDs and get the fourth free!  For a list of topics or more information on purchasing CDs, click HERE.
 
Information about the 2009 webinar schedule will be available soon.

For a complete listing of upcoming events, CLICK HERE.  Meanwhile, please mark your calendar for some of our key upcoming events.

Regional Meetings
February 23-27 - various locations

Investments Summit
February 5 - Dallas

Joint IBAT/TBA Legislative Day
February 10 - Austin

IT Security Summit
February 26 - San Antonio

Appraisals Summit
March 5 - Dallas

How to Create & Maintain a Sales Culture in a Community Bank Summit
March 18-19 - San Antonio

Congressional Visit
May 12-14 - Washington, D.C.

IBAT/SWACHA Bank on Boot Camp
June 2-3 - Austin

IBAT Leadership Conference
June 18-20 - San Antonio

IBAT 35th Annual Convention
October 10-13 - Westin La Cantera Resort, San Antonio