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Have You Contributed to NYSIBPAC This Year?
If not...now is the time! We need your help in this statewide election year to support candidates and committees who understand community banks' needs. Can we count on you?
CLICK HERE for our 2015 PAC contribution form. Help support IBANYS' political action efforts in New York State.
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For more information, visit:
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From Your Independent Bankers Association
Of New York State
Wishing you a happy, healthy holiday!
Welcome To IBANYS' Two New
Member Banks!
IBANYS' membership continues to grow, as we add to our family of New York community banks. We are pleased to extend a warm welcome to our two newest members:
- Salisbury Bank, which is headquartered in Lakeville, Connecticut, and
- Country Bank, headquartered in New York City.
Thanks for your support. We look forward to working together in 2016 and beyond!
IBANYS' Downstate
Regional Compliance Conference:
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Empire National Bank
Islandia, NY (On Long Island)
In the 2015 compliance environment, it appears federal and state banking regulators are "upping the ante" in terms of their expectations. This may well have a direct and significant impact on the board members and senior management teams of New York community banks. IBANYS' December 15th Downstate Regional Compliance Conference on Long Island will provide regulatory, operational and legal perspectives, focus on what banks can expect and how they should respond, and how they can stay ahead of the curve.
"Building a Compliance Culture"
Recent advisory guidance suggests financial institutions need to demonstrate they have established a strong "compliance culture" to
 effectively manage risk. In this session, we will demystify the elements of what the regulators are looking for, and provide practical advice on how you can successfully build a compliance culture at your community bank. We will share specific examples of how "high performers" think about compliance, and use it to achieve business goals.
Speaker: Pam Purdue, Executive Vice President/Regulatory Insight with Continuity Control
"Board and Executive Oversight -- Examiner Expectations"
There's no denying the bar has been raised for bank directors and senior management when it comes to regulatory compliance oversight. This session will help ensure that your institution is not at risk! Our  presentation will clearly outline the director and management oversight responsibilities, and discuss critical "take-aways" from recent enforcement actions. With the stakes higher than ever, your institution needs to make certain that appropriate controls are in place for Board and Senior Management to demonstrate their engagement and involvement. Speaker: Pam Purdue, Executive Vice President/Regulatory Insight with Continuity Control
Regulators' Perspective --
Compliance & 'Hot Button'
Examination Issues
Senior representatives from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) will lead our discussion and provide their insights and perspective.
- FDIC Assistant Regional Director for the New York Region Robert Cordeiro oversees compliance and CRA examinations in the region. He will discuss such issues as violation trends, mortgage related issues, third party vendor issues, redlining/CRA matters, federal and state coordination and examination cycles.
- OCC National Bank Examiner/ Compliance Tom Clayton of the agency's New York Metro Field Office will focus on issues related to Fair Lending and CRA, and will review the outcomes of recent OCC examinations.
IBANYS December Conference Calls:
Gearing Up For 2016
IBANYS has scheduled three important conference calls during the first two weeks of December, as the planning process continues for 2016.
- On Tuesday December 1, 9:00 AM: IBANYS' Compliance Peer Group will meet by phone to begin planning the 2016 Compliance Conference, scheduled for March 30 - 31.
- On Tuesday, December 8, 9:00 AM: IBANYS' CFO Peer Council will meet by telephone to begin planning the 2016 CFO/Senior Management Conference.
- On Friday, December 11 at 9:00 AM: IBANYS Government Relations Committee will meet by conference call to continue to discuss the upcoming 2016 legislative and congressional sessions.
Dec. 18 Webinar:
"Significant Fair Lending Developments
On Bank Enforcement"
On Friday Deceber 18 from 9:00 - 10:00 AM, join us for an important webinar on "Significant Fair Lending Developments of Bank Enforcement" with speakers Michael Mancusi, Helen Mayer Clark & Kevin Toomey of Arnold & Porter LLP. This timely webinar will provide 45 minutes of substantive practical guidance for banks on recent fair lending cases, followed by 15 minutes for questions and answers. It will include a discussion of two significant fair lending developments that have been resolved in the past several months that signify a change in the government's enforcement of the far lending laws.
Click here for details and to register.
IBANYS, ICBA Offer Discounts
On Dell Products
ICBA has introduced a new discount program, which IBANYS has agreed to endorse. The progtram offers discounts on Dell PCs, laptops, servers and other electronics. IBANYS members are now eligible to participate in the program, which provides discounts from 2% to 35% off Dell's pricing. Bank employees and customers are also eligible to participate! To learn more about this exciting new opportunity and how to take advantage of these savings, visit
www.dell.com/icba.
Please Help IBANYS "Cure The Blue"
The Buffalo Bills Alumni Foundation and IBANYS are spearheading a long overdue effort to raise funds and awareness regatding prostate cancer research in New
 York State. IBANYS' member bank Lake Shore Savings Bank is among the community banks strongly supporting the campaign. Lake Shore has "Cure the Blue" ribbon pins available for purchase for a donation at all eleven of the bank's branches, and conducted a branch wide fundraising event earlier this fall.
Lake Shore President & CEO Dan
Reininga noted:
"
The exciting thing about this is that it's going to be a national campaign at some point. It's very exciting and we're very proud. It's what Lake Shore is all about - putting people first.
Can we count on YOUR bank or firm to join this truly important effort?
Can YOUR Bank Control
Health Care Costs
-- AND Improve Employee Benefits?
The answer is yes! One way to do this is through the "My Wellness Resource Card" may be your bank's solution. You can upgrade your employee benefits with a low-cost, non-traditional program to save time and money, while helping to retain employees.
 The program allows the bank to provide on demand health care from U.S. board-certified doctors who will provide diagnosis, treatment options and necessary prescriptions via unlimited telephone medical consultations through
Telehealth. It will also provide discounts and significant savings on a variety of medical and dental products.
Sponsored by My Wellness Resource, Inc. and by IBANYS, this program was
specifically designed to improve productivity, decrease absenteeism and boost morale without straining your bottom line.
Click here and
here to learn more about this exciting new alternative, or visit
www.ibanys.net for details/to enroll.
THE ECONOMY
Consumer Confidence Down
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell to 90.4 in November, lower than October's 99.1 reading and missing November estimates for 99.5. A spokesperson noted: "The decline was mainly due to a
 less favorable view of the job market. Consumers' appraisal of current business conditions, on the other hand, was mixed. Fewer consumers said conditions had improved, while the proportion saying conditions had deteriorated also declined. Heading into 2016, consumers are cautious about the labor market and expect little change in business conditions."
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS UPDATES
IN ALBANY:
Search Continues For DFS Superintendent
Five months after Benjamin Lawsky resigned as NYS Superintendent of Financial Services -- and with Acting Superintendent Anthony Albanese scheduled to depart at yearend -- the Cuomo adninistration continues to search for a permanent successor. Former prosecutors Sean Coffey (Kramer Levin), Michele Hirschman (Paul Weiss) and Hector Gonzalez have been mentioned in press reports, but reportedly declined interest. Former JPMorgan Chase general Jonathan Schwartz and Bridget Healy (ING) have also been mentioned.
A spokesperson said the administration is "conducting a robust and thorough search for the right person to ensure DFS's strong enforcement of the rules of the road for Wall Street continues and lead the agency into the future."
Fed Dividend Cut, FASB Changes,
Reg Relief On Tap
Among the issues pending in Washington, D.C. in the closing weeks of 2015 include:
- the proposal in Congress to help fund the federal highway bill through reducing the dividends on bank held Federal Reserve Bank stock down to 1.5% (essentially, a "backdoor tax hike on banks);
- the effort by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)to rewrite accounting standards, and
- ongoing efforts to advance regulatory relief initiatives in Congress for community banks.
New York Community Banks
Find Real Value In IBANYS Webinars
In today's banking and business environment, community banks face a number of significant challenges. Bank officers, board members and employees understand that their responsibilities (and potential liabilities) continue to evolve. Is YOUR bank doing everything possible to provide them with the information and tools necessary? Are You Ensuring that they are fully informed, and equipped to manage the bank and guide it into the future?
IBANYS' webinars are designed to meet the needs of community banks, and are both effective -- and, cost-effective. Your bank's officers, directors and employees can participate directly from their offices. They
provide bottom line value. That's
why participation in IBANYS webinars has expanded dramatically over the past eighteen months! Take a moment to review our upcoming programs
below.
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IBANYS Spotlights. . .
Our Preferred Provider Partners
IBANYS' preferred provider partners provide significant value to New York community banks, sharing their products, services, expertise and insights to enhance banks' operations and profitability. As we approach the end of the year, it's a great time to reacquaint yourselves with these important industry partners!
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Pentegra Retirement Services
offers Qualified Plan Solutions for Financial Advisors and Plan Sponsors, Non-Qualified Plan Solutions and BOLI, Institutional Investment Management Soutions. Pentegra was founded by clients, and is owned and governed by them. For additional details,
For more information, contact Fabrizio D'uva: (609) 584-7400 or (609) 977-5891; fduva@pentegra.com,
or visit the website:
www.Pentegra.com
- Wolf & Company, P.C. began in 1911 as Edwin L. Pride & Company. Among its many services is WolfPAC Integrated Risk Management, to assist clients to view risk profiles across people, processes, and technologies-- decreasing exposure to risk, and saving time and money. The secure, hosted enterprise risk management solution automates identification of risks, threats, and control gaps, and provides tools to review and monitor information technology, privacy, vendor, regulatory compliance and other enterprise-wide risk assessments and programs. Quarterly methodology updates align with changing business environments and emerging compliance and examination standards. For details, contact Gerald Gagne: (617) 428-5455, ggagne@wolfandco.com, or visit the website at www.wolfandco.com.
- T. Gschwender & Associates, Inc. is a diversified consulting company that has been providing services to financial institutions and businesses in the Northeast United States since 1984. Their financial institutional clients include small community banks and credit unions with less than $100 million in assets to much larger regional institutions with over $5 billion in assets. For financial institutional clients, they serve as a highly sophisticated "Credit Department," able to handle all functions from initial borrower due diligence to collateral liquidation, and everything in between. For more information, contact Bharpur "Bo" Singh: (315) 701-1293; bsingh@tgschwender-assoc.com, or visit the website: www.tgschwender-assoc.com
- Continuity Control is a Compliance Managment System for community banks and credit unions. Engineered to reduce the time, cost and risk impacts of rugulation, this unified system automates the entire regulatory lifecycle - - managing regulatory updates, policies, procedures, risks, vendors, audits, business continuity, exam preparation, compliance strategy and planning. Contact Marnie Keller: (202) 329-3170 mkeller@continuity.net, or visit the website: www.continuity.net.
- Promontory Interfinancial Network, LLC helps financial institutions of all sizes thrive. Promontory Network members use its solutions ̶ Bank Assetpoint®, Insured Cash Sweep®, or ICS®, CDARS®, IND®, and Yankee Sweep® ̶ to source new asset opportunities, diversify their asset portfolios, reduce collateral requirements, purchase funding, and build multi-million-dollar relationships. For more information, contact Kevin Hamilton at 866-776-6426, Ext3329, khamilton@promnetwork.com. Or visit www.promnetwork.com.
- Travelers is an insurance leader, committed to keeping pace with the ever-changing needs of customers, and anticipating their needs for the future. Travelers Bond & Specialty Insurance Claim is comprised of dedicated claim professionals equipped with the expertise needed to handle management liability and surety claims. Their dedicated professionals are located in over 35 locations across the country so you will always receive superior claim service. When you select coverage from Travelers, you can trust you're dealing with insurance experts who recognize the unique needs of financial institutions - an industry they've served since 1890. For more than a century, Travelers has supported community banks by offering an extensive selection of customized insurance solutions. Our product line responds to the most recent trends in community banking. For details: Call (866)336-2077, visit www.travelers.com.
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DID YOU KNOW. . .
. . .that 59 persons have served as permanent or acting Superintendents of the New York State Banking Department and its successor, the State Department of Financial Services (DFS)? The Banking Department was created in 1851, and was the oldest state banking department in the nation. The DFS was created in 2011 when the NYS Banking Department was merged with the State Insurance Department. The first Superintendent Daniel St. John also served as a member of the NYS Assembly, NYS Senate and Congress.
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| New York community banks play a key role in our state and local economies. Help spread the good news among your customers, business and elected leaders and media! |
| Click here for quotes from Governor Cuomo and DFS Superintendent Lawsky extolling the performance and value of New York community banks. |
| Click here for the full NYS Study on community banking. |
| Click here to read IBANYS President & CEO John Witkowski's comments on the new tax changes and benefits for New York community banks as approved in the 2014-15 State Budget. Click here for IBANYS' letter to the Editor of Consumer Reports Magazine correcting failure to mention community banks as an alternative to using "big banks." _________________________________ |
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John J. Witkowski
President and Chief Executive Officer
Stephen W. Rice
Director of Government Relations and Communications
Linda Gregware
Director of Administration and Membership Services
William Y. Crowell, III
Legislative Counsel
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