ON THE HILL
		The Perry/Sharp tax proposal, HB 3, will be debated on the House floor on Monday.  Your government relations staff has been working to ensure that Texas banks are treated as fairly as possible in any new tax scheme.  This is a complex and difficult issue, with many moving parts.  We have not taken an official position on this proposal.  Our friends at BKD, LLP have put together a spreadsheet to provide an analysis of the new plan’s (at this moment in time) potential impact upon your bank.  There are still some questions regarding apportionment, and hopefully those will be settled in the coming days.  We will attempt to keep you updated as this process moves forward.   In other news, IBAT has submitted a comment on the Texas ILC issue.  HB 955, the omnibus bill modernizing the Texas Finance Code, included a provision requiring a study on the creation of an Industrial Loan Company charter in Texas.  Here is our comment letter on that issue.
LEGAL EASE QUESTION OF THE WEEK
		An account owner is filing for divorce and wants to take his wife's name off their joint account.  Can we just strike through her name on the account agreement?   To find out the answer, click on the flashing question mark.  And you can also check out our searchable database of other frequently asked questions.
PAC NEWS
		Congratulations to Steve Mack and the directors, officers and employees of Texas Heritage Bank!  The bank was the winning name drawn from the banks who conducted in-house PAC Drives.  Steve and his bank will have the opportunity to choose from three fun events hosted by the IBAT staff.  If you didn’t get in by the deadline, don’t worry…you’ll be entered in next year’s drawing!  Thanks to all of you who support the IBAT PAC and IBAT FedPAC!   Here's a list of the other banks that conducted PAC drives from April 13, 2005 - April 13, 2006:   First National Bank, Monahans Bonham State Bank First State Bank, Abernathy Texas Heritage Bank, Boerne GNB Financial, Gainesville First National Bank, Moody First National Bank, Giddings First National Bank, Winnsboro Medina Valley State Bank, Devine ValueBank Texas, Corpus Christi Orange Savings Bank Muenster State Bank Alliance Bank, Sulphur Springs Amarillo National Bank Bank Texas, Quitman Brady National Bank First State Bank, Mesquite Fort Davis State Bank Gateway National Bank, Dallas Happy State Bank Interstate Bank, Perryton Lamesa National Bank Peoples State Bank, Shepherd Southwest Bank, Fort Worth Texas Heritage Bank, Cross Plains   And click here for our current list of Major PAC Donors for 2005-2006.
100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
		IBAT would like to congratulate the First National Bank Santo on the occasion of its 100th Anniversary.  The bank will host a celebration on April 28 commemorating its past and the beginning of another century of service to the community.  The IBAT Board of Directors and staff congratulates Chairman, President and CEO Susie Chesnut and the directors, officers and employees on this important milestone for the citizens of Santo and Palo Pinto County and the community banking industry
SOLUTIONS FROM SERVICES
		Looking for a professional to fill a position at your financial institution?  If so, you'll have to visit IBAT's online Job Bank.  The Job Bank is an online "meeting place" for financial institution employers and job seekers.  This is a simple classified ad system to  post Positions Available - for employers and a way to post Positions Wanted - for job seekers.  Anyone in community banking or the financial services industry (banker or vendor) may post a job opening.  Visit the IBAT Job Bank today!
BAKER WEEKLY
		“…an end to the tightening process seems likely to be near,” was what several members of the Fed voiced concerns over, as stated in the Fed Minutes from their March 2006 FOMC meeting.  Read more in this week's newsletter from The Baker Group.    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.
ON THE EDUCATION FRONT
		A BIG IBAT thank you to the Georgetown Cluster on Bank Secrecy Act held April 20th!  Participating Banks included:   City National Bank-Taylor Citizens National Bank-Cameron First Texas Bank-Georgetown Union State Bank-Florence   Don't Miss the upcoming IBAT & PBS Seminars.  Topics Include: Deposit Account Fraud Compliance Management Fair Lending As a member service, IBAT hosts webcast/telephone seminars.  Upcoming topics include: Loan Review for Community Bankers Establishing, Improving or Revising a Compliance Program Dealing With Subpoenas, Summons, Garnishments & Tax Levies Detecting Counterfeit Official Checks, Q-Chex, Money Orders and More Regulation CC Update on Remotely Created How to Pass a Customer Due Diligence Monitoring Exam Ethics in Banking:  What Every Director Needs to Know Using Credit Risk Rating to Determine Asset Quality Loan Compliance Hot Spots
COMING SOON
		For a complete listing of upcoming events, click here. Meanwhile, please mark your calendar for some of our key events for 2006.     IBAT 14th Annual Congressional Visit May 23-25, 2006 - Washington, D.C.   Leadership Conference June 15-17, 2006 - Galveston   IBAT 32nd Annual Convention October 1-3, 2006 - San Antonio   Bank Operations Institute October 8-13, 2006 - Dallas