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Now that Texas legislators have come and gone, IBAT's legislative focus turns to Washington D.C.
We have already started the year off with an important win in the U.S. House of Representatives. By a vote of 316 to 9, approval was given to H.R.698, the Gillmor/Frank bill that would seek to close the ILC loophole for Wal-Mart, Home Depot and other big box stores seeking banking charters. Now it is on to the Senate where its prospect for passage is much more uncertain.
The ICBA/IBAT led Communities First Act, a measure that reduce onerous tax and regulatory burdens by community banks, has been introduced in both the House (H.R.1869) and Senate (S.1405). We need co-sponsors! Several regulatory relief provisions of last year's CFA bill were ultimately passed because we were able to obtain close to 100 co-sponsors.
Call, write, and e-mail your lawmakers and urge them to co-sponsor the Communities First Act (H.R.1869 and S.1405). Call 202.225.3121 and ask for your lawmaker's office by name. When connected with the office, ask to speak to the legislative aide handling banking issues.
CLICK HERE for a summary of the bill's provisions. |
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| ON THE HILL |
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State Tax Update
For those of you who wish to "dig a bit deeper" into the changes in the tax laws enacted this session, we are pleased to provide a report prepared by Ryan & Company. While not for the faint of heart, this is valuable information, and we appreciate the permission and the opportunity to share this with the membership.
Legislative Wrap Up
Don't forget to join us for a free webinar to learn the good, the bad and the ugly from the 80th Texas Legislative Session. For more information or to register online, please CLICK HERE. |
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| CONSUMER TIPS |
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Everyone is all about makeovers these days—from extreme personal makeovers to extreme home makeovers. This month’s issue of Consumer Tips offers some simple suggestions for a financial makeover. CLICK HERE for more information. IBAT members have permission to substitute their bank logos and use information in these columns in materials for their customers. |
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| IBAT 33RD ANNUAL CONVENTION |
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Here is some information about two more of our convention general sessions:
Coming To Grips With Market Realities: Competing And Thriving In The New Financial Services Marketplace - presented by Tom Parliment, Parliment Consulting, Key West, FL
You can earn competitive, even superior, returns on equity if you come to grips with the financial, competitive, and marketing realities facing your business. Parliament will help you understand how to: (1) Measure, monitor and price cash flows; (2) Leverage capital and maximize the rate of growth of the cash flowing through your income statement; (3) Differentiate your products and services through retail options that have perceived value; (4) Price your products at the margin;m and (5) Gain, maintain, and manage your point of sale.
Ten Most Important Characteristics Of The Strongest Local Economies In America - presented by William H. Fruth, President, Policom Corporation, Palm City, FL
Ever wonder why some areas of the country have growing robust local economies and others are failing? In his presentation, William Fruth will highlight the ten most important characteristics of the strongest economies in the USA so you can understand why the strong are strong, and the weak are weak.
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| CAST YOUR VOTE FOR THE FIVE*STAR AWARD |
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For the past several years, IBAT has presented the Five*Star Award to one or more Associate Members who provide superior service to our industry.
CLICK HERE to cast your vote for this year’s Five*Star Award honorees.
We are also happy to announce our first Five*Star Legacy Award to McCoy Myers, a CSI Company, based in Amarillo, Texas, who after winning this award for five years, has retired from the competition. Hats off to McCoy Myers for their years of dedication and service to the community banking industry!
Voting ends June 5.
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| LEGAL EASE QUESTION OF THE WEEK |
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Question: We are working out the details of a merchant remote capture deposit program. We understand that Check 21 facilitates our bank letting the merchant scan checks and remotely deposit them digitally into their account. But can we authorize our commercial customers to initiate deposits via ACH?
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 2007 Salary and Compensation Survey Deadline is June 8th
Here are a few quick and very important reasons for your bank to participate in this year’s 2007 IBAT Texas Community Bank Salary & Compensation Survey:
* The earliest ever release date scheduled for August 28th!
* New executive and junior officer titles as well as new employee and teller positions.
* New executive compensation topics.
* And, it’s the best management tool for your bank’s largest non-interest expense.
As always, the results will be presented in peer groups of responding banks to make it easy to compare your bank’s compensation to those banks of similar size, market environment, and earnings. The results will be in a new easier to read format. And best of all, as a participant, your bank is entitled to the results at less than half the price paid by non-participant banks.
So complete your bank’s questionnaire today! The new, earlier June 8th deadline date is just around the corner! If you haven't received your questionnaire in the mail, CLICK HERE to print a copy of the questionnaire. For more information about printing your bank’s questionnaire, contact Jessica Molina at 800/749-4228 or e-mail at jmolina@ibat.org. |
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| IBAT EDUCATION FOUNDATION |
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The IBAT Education Foundation web site can help you learn how to improve your children's financial education. Click on Bankers under "Who You Are" and find this article, "Nest Egg Knowledge for Kids' Initiative" by A. G. Edwards company under the Reports/Speeches column. |
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| BAKER WEEKLY |
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May’s employment figures indicated that the U.S. economy added 157,000 jobs...the unemployment rate held steady at 4.5%...Personal income fell 0.1% in April, while spending rose 0.5%...Pending home sales for April continued to decline...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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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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June 12 |
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June 14-16 - Hyatt Lost Pines Resort |
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September 29 - October 2, 2007 - Fort Worth |
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FDIC Banker Outreach
October 23 - Richardson
October 25 - Arlington |
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Financial Literacy Summit
December 4-5 - TBD | | |
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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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