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| RECENT NEWS |
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Hell has officially frozen over, at least for some credit unions!
In a ruling last week by the Internal Revenue Service, state chartered credit unions have been stripped of their Unrelated Business Income Tax exemption (UBIT) for six unrelated product offerings including credit life and disability, accidental death and dismemberment, guaranteed auto protection and dental and cancer insurance, financial management services and car warranties.
We hope this is the tip of the iceberg...IBAT and all banking trade associations have constantly advocated that bank-like credit unions should be taxed liked banks. It is unclear whether the ruling will result in the conversion of state chartered credit unions to federal who remain exempt from such taxes.
Capitol Report
In case you missed it, check out last week's Capitol Report for an update on what's happening at the state capitol. |
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| ANNUAL CONGRESSIONAL VISIT |
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Our 15th Annual Congressional Visit is scheduled for April 24-26. This is a great opportunity to tell the community banking story to your elected officials in Washington. We hope you'll make plans to join us and help us make a difference for our industry.
We have a block of rooms at the Madison Hotel (room block cutoff has been extended to March 22). One of our members has alerted us to some really great airfares on American from Dallas that are as low as $225 round trip via Travelzoo's SuperSearch.
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| LEGAL EASE QUESTION OF THE WEEK |
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Question: We are instituting a gift card program. Do we have to perform the customer identification program verification for holders of the cards?
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. |
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| SOLUTIONS FROM SERVICES |
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IBAT's endorsed provider, FundsXpress, provides internet-based financial services for retail and commercial financial institutions. By combining transactional functionality with a comprehensive support infrastructure, FundsXpress provides secure Internet banking, small business banking, account aggregation, loan platform, and Portana™ Dynamic Web Site. Join FundsXpress at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort located only 10 minutes from Austin for the LEAD 2007 - FundsXpress Client Group Meeting April 24-26, 2007. Visit their website for more information and register today!
More information... |
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| WELCOME NEW ASSOCIATE MEMBERS |
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 Hal D. Gilchrist, TPR Enterprises, Inc./Financial Marketing Services, Harlingen, TX |
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| IBAT EDUCATION FOUNDATION |
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Plan Ahead: April is Financial Literacy Month
Banker surveys on consumer education and financial literacy programs reveal that many banks and bankers are interested in beginning or enhancing their financial education programs — however they just don't know where to start.
We would like you to consider participating in some capacity in April to capture the national wave of publicity surrounding Financial Literacy Month.
Participating could be — telling your customers what you already do — be it with Junior Achievement classes, a school savings program, church counseling, or civic awareness effort.
If you don't have a program in place — consider the following resources:
1. IBAT Education Foundation Website of resources has many age specific options to choose among. More information...
2. Consider volunteering at your local high school with the exercises outlined in the IBAT Meeting the Mandate booklet.
3. Teach Children To Save Resource Program (K-12) that the ABA Education Foundation has developed. Working with the Texas Bankers Foundation and the ABA, we are able to offer all Texas bankers the discounted price on all orders made by March 23. More information... |
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| BAKER WEEKLY |
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...The longer view still appears to be that a weaker economy will be accompanied by a lessening of price pressures throughout the economy. Moreover, the bond market remains focused on recent weakness in stocks and the dollar/yen exchange rate, as well as continued bad news regarding the real estate sector, particularly the market for sub-prime lending...Read more in this week's Baker Weekly.
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. |
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| ON THE EDUCATION FRONT |
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2007 Operations Compliance Summit
April 12-13, 2007 - Hotel Cutoff March 22
Omni San Antonio Hotel, San Antonio
More information...
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:
Overdraft privilege best practices and pitfalls
BSA/AML examination issues
Information security issues
Stored value and payroll card issues
Check processing issues, including Check 21 warranties and remote capture opportunities
FACT Act Update |
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| LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE |
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Circle the wagons! It’s the registration round up! The Annual Leadership Conference Registration is now available online for your convenience.
Join us June 14-16 at the brand new Hyatt Lost Pines Resort & Spa. If you enjoy the Hyatt Hill Country, you will LOVE the Hyatt Lost Pines.
The first 50 attendees to register online will be entered in a drawing for a free iPod Nano.
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| TECHMECCA 2007 |
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TechMecca 2007
The Premier Technology Conference & Expo for Financial Institutions
November 28-29
Red Rock Casino & Resort, Las Vegas
Calling all exhibitors! Exhibit registration is now open! Please click here for more information!
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COMING SOON |
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For a complete listing of upcoming events, click here. Meanwhile, please mark your calendar for some of our key events for 2007.
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April 24-26, 2007 - Washington, D.C. |
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June 14-16, 2007 - Hyatt Lost Pines Resort |
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IBAT 33rd Annual Convention
September 30 - October 2, 2007 - Fort Worth |
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Contact IBAT or if you have comments or questions about this newsletter,
email or call Bonnie Kankel at (800) 749-4228. |
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