Kyle Irwin on Taking our Leadership to Washington

Taking our Leadership to Washington

What a wonderful experience it was to spend time in Washington D.C. for IBAT’s annual Congressional visit!  Every banker there was excited and full of energy, to say the least.  As Texas community bankers, we continue to be very productive in our grassroots efforts to improve the wonderful business we are blessed to be in.  To see over 120 bankers join together and walk the halls of Congress, all with the same rallying cry, and to get the support we need from our elected officials, was truly an unbelievable experience.  

The Leadership Division has always taken an active role in supporting the IBAT legislative and regulatory advocacy mission.  We feel strongly about this.  Every year many of us lend a hand in IBAT PAC fundraising efforts, from working the Convention auctions to making sure that our own banks participate in the annual PAC Drive Months.  But that is only part of the solution.  We also feel that in these unstable times, more than ever before, it is critical to stand up and let our federal and state legislators know that there is a vast difference between Wall Street and Main Street.  Our Main Street banking industry cannot afford to be swept up in the public furor that is being directed at the mega-banks.

Chris Williston, our IBAT CEO, has always said that “Government is run by the people who show up”, and that has never been more true.  Look at the provisions suggested by IBAT bankers to the FDIC staff, and compare that to what the FDIC is actually doing.  The original FDIC proposal of 20 basis points on insured deposits has been changed to only five basis points on an assets minus capital formula.  This is a sign of just how successful our efforts have been.  As Chris Williston points out in his blog entry this battle has been won, but the war may just have begun.  Look forward to seeing everyone in Washington D.C. next year!!