THE LAST MINUTE As I'm writing this report, the Senate has passed the budget bill that provides on-going funding for ten Federal Government departments and has extended the payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits for two months and obligated the President to make a decision on the Keystone pipeline. Further proof that the saying, "If it weren't for the last minute, most things wouldn't get done." I can hardly be critical, I'm still in the process of preparing for Christmas and it's just a few days away. Thanks to those of you who have taken the time to share your knowledge with me and made me feel welcome over the last few months. I'd like to share an update with you on ICBA sponsored legislation called the Communities First Act and the highlights of two meetings that I attended recently representing the ICBSD as Executive Director. I'll close with an outlook for 2012. Communities First Act The House version of the Communities First Act (CFA)(H.R. 1697) has over 60 bipartisan cosponsors, and ICBA Chairman, Sal Marranca, testified in support of it on November 16 before a joint hearing of several House Subcommittees. Three key provisions of the CFA have actually been ‘lifted' from the House and Senate Bills (S.1600) and are advancing in separate pieces of legislation, which is what has happened with previous version of the Communities First Act. The House passed H.R.1315 which allows the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) to veto any Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule that would ‘adversely impact a subset of the financial industry.' The existing veto standard is that a CFPB rule/regulation has to be determined to ‘put at risk, the safety and soundness of the banking system or the stability of the financial system' which is thought to be an unrealistic standard. The second example of legislation that has ‘gotten legs' is H.R.1965 which increases the SEC shareholder registration threshold from 500 to 2,000. It has passed the House 420-2 and has been introduced in the Senate (S.1941) by Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX) and Mark Pryor (D-AR). The third and final example, is H.R. 3213, which provides an exemption for banks with assets of less than $1 billion from the internal controls requirement of Sarbanes-Oxley, Section 404 (b). This bill was introduced by Rep. Fincher (R-TN). There are two other key provisions that warrant mention, though they haven't advanced in separate legislation: amending Dodd-Frank to restore reliance upon external credit ratings and extending the 5-year net operating loss carry back provision. We remain hopeful that Senators Thune and Johnson and Representative Noem will be cosponsors and have reached out to staff recently regarding the CFA. South Dakota Banking Commission The South Dakota Banking Commission met in Pierre on December 12. Roundtable discussion started the meeting and similar to what I've heard many of you express, Chairman, Jeff Erickson and commission members, including Steve Hayes, Dakota Prairie Bank (ICBSD Member) praised South Dakota's strong Ag economy, and expressed concerns about investing excess cash on hand, unprecedented land values, an over-supply of residential real estate and an inadequate workforce in certain areas of South Dakota. Secretary of the Department of Labor and Regulation, Pam Roberts talked about her department's recent reorganization and how the number of workers in manufacturing is rebounding: in 2007 South Dakota boasted 42,000 manufacturing workers, in 2009 that number had dropped to 36,400 and for 2011, the number has grown to 38,300 – a sign that the economy is rebounding. In comments to the commission, South Dakota Bankers Association President, Curt Everson, lead a discussion on the expansion of the footprints of the Black Hills Federal Credit Union and Dakotaland Federal Credit Union and shared that the SDBA will support the Communities First Act. ICBSD was given time at the table, and the opportunity was used to share the ICBSD Board's intent to spend time during the 2012 Legislative Session sharing information about the unfair tax and regulatory advantages that both federal credit unions and Farm Credit Services enjoy and the fiscal impact to the State of South Dakota and the Federal Government. An update on the CFA was also shared. The South Dakota Banking Division intends to introduce three bills. The first would increase the lending limit for Ag loans by up to twenty five percent of a bank capital, the second revises various trust provisions and is the result of the Governor's Trust Task Force and the third is a cleanup bill of statute pertaining to the Department of Labor and Regulation. Banking and Financial Services Advisory Committee In early December I traveled to Northern State University to attend a Banking and Financial Services Advisory Committee meeting. NSU is creating a Masters in Banking and Financial Services Degree. This is a unique degree and it's thought that there's only one or two other similar degrees offered in the United States. The advisory committee had an opportunity to review the proposed courses for the degree which includes two areas of emphasis: international and commercial banking. The expectation is that this degree will be able to be taken completely on-line to accommodate bankers and other professionals working full-time. The degree's capstone course will include ten days spent on NSU's campus during the summer. A consultant will review the planned curriculum and then the proposed degree will then be forwarded to the Board of Regents for their consideration. New Year's Expectations I'd like to share a few New Year's ‘expectations' that I have for our organization. I hope and expect that we will welcome several new members during 2012, both banks and associate members. We'll have more presence during the upcoming legislative session and will likely call upon you to share information with your State Senator and Representatives. You may have noticed that ICBSD is ‘sporting' a new logo; you can anticipate other changes for ICBSD including moving to a new location this coming year and that our by-monthly newsletter will continue to change in appearance and content. A few things that you can count on ‘not' changing – your input, advice and suggestions will continue to be welcome; your questions will be answered as quickly as possible; and the ICBSD will continue to carry out its mission of helping community banks succeed! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and wish you all the best in the New Year! Geri Beck, Executive Director, ICBSD can be reached at 605-996-9329 or geri@icbsd.com |
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