IBAT News

Join your peers for SWGSB's 137th Assembly for Bank Directors, an important conference on board duties and responsibilities. With the community banking industry facing unprecedented changes and challenges, we've invited top banking insiders to discuss in depth Superior Community Banking: Reaching for Success. On the agenda are critical issues bank boards nationwide are addressing, such as:

• economic outlook;
• compliance risks;
• regulatory issues;
• strategic issues;
• brand communication; and
• key survival strategies.

Workshops will give you the opportunity to "drill down" further to gain a complete understanding of regulator expectations and stress testing. For more details about the program, and to register, please click here.

Last week, the FHFA directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to limit their future mortgage acquisitions to loans that meet the requirements for a qualified mortgage, including those that meet the special or temporary qualified mortgage definition, and loans that are exempt from the "ability to repay" requirements under the Dodd-Frank Act. Beginning January 10, 2014, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will no longer purchase a loan that is subject to the "ability to repay" rule, if the loan:

• is not fully amortizing,
• has a term of longer than 30 years, or
• includes points and fees in excess of three percent of the total loan amount, or such other limits for low balance loans as set forth in the rule.

According to the press release, this means Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will not purchase interest-only loans, loans with 40-year terms, or those with points and fees exceeding the thresholds established by the rule.

The debit card surcharge prohibition bill, HB 3068 (Jose Menendez), is scheduled for Senate floor action as early as tomorrow. Business and Commerce Committee Chairman John Carona is the Senate Sponsor.

Please take a moment to call and/or email your member of the Texas Senate - right now - and let them know that this is an extremely important issue for your bank, that you strongly support this bill and you urge their support.

The various retailer/merchant interests are opposed, and will be attempting to defeat this bill. Additionally, one of the conservative groups opposed this bill in the House (interference with the free market), and may do so again as it goes to the Senate. Your grassroots communications with the House clearly made the difference.  We need your involvement in this process to succeed!  

This consumer-friendly bill will protect consumer choice at the point of sale and ensure that community bank debit cards are not discriminated against due to arrangements between retailers and the big banks. Full talking points for the bill are available to download here.  When calling your Senator's office, please offer to forward this link or the downloaded document if they’d like further information.

Again, you may look up and access your  Senator's phone number here.

As is customary, IBAT will provide a thorough review of the Texas Legislative Session via a webinar conducted by Karen Neeley and Steve Scurlock on June 25, from 3:00 PM until 4:30 PM.  

There is no charge, and the program will be recorded for future reference. Additionally, our post-session white paper should be ready for distribution electronically prior to the program date.  

We hope you plan to join us for an informative discussion on issues impacting the community banking industry. Click here to register for the webinar.

Compared with many of the recent headline-grabbing news stories, [last] week's spate of economic statistics seem like cause for elation. No murder, no mayhem, just a slow-leak in Ten Year prices to [Friday] morning's yield of 1.90%. A monster 10.5% year-over-year jump in home prices nationwide is at least partly responsible for the slow motion sell-off. According to CoreLogic's Home Price Index Report, the largest gains happened in the places that needed it the most; Nevada, California, and Arizona. Yipee-Ki-Yay! For the country as a whole this represents the biggest annual gain since March 2006 and the 13th consecutive monthly rise... Read more in the Baker Market Update.

Office of the Governor Rick Perry:

May 15 is observed as Peace Officer Memorial Day in Texas.  According to Sec. 3100.065 of the Texas Government Code, the state flag should be displayed at half-staff on that day.  The President has also issued an order that the US flag be flown at half-staff on that same day. 

Therefore, all state and national flags should be flown at half-staff on Wednesday, May 15.

In a ceremony on April 25, Robert A. Hulsey (American National Bank of Texas), Walter Johnson (Amegy Bank), Kenneth T. Murphy (First Financial Bank, N.A.) and the late Walter G. Lacy, Jr. (Citizens National Bank, Waco) were inducted to the Texas Bankers Hall of Fame at Sam Houston State University.  

The banking program at Sam Houston State University established the Texas Bankers Hall of Fame in order to provide positive recognition to Texas Bankers. Through this medium, the university recognizes bankers who have made valuable contributions to the banking profession and are pioneers in shaping their respective banking institutions.

IBAT congratulates all the recipients and especially Robert Hulsey, a past Chairman of both IBAT and the IBAT Education Foundation.