50th Anniversary Celebration!!! We had a great time this week with our community bankers, business partners, speakers . . .and our special guests from ICBA, BRAD AND JULIE BOLTON!

On Monday, we kicked off the convention with a great day of golf (although it was very hot). The tournament had 60 players and I wanted to congratulate our winning team (-11) Dave DeMarco (Arrow Bank), David Welsh, (Altitude), Brian Good (Alliance Partners) and Michael Beifeld (FHLB). Obviously, we won't put that foursome together again.

The convention was a great success!  Our speakers were terrific and the exhibitors were busy for both days! Dave Wagner and Joe Haller of Roosevelt and Cross sponsored a Poker Run for our bankers on Monday evening which gave the bankers an opportunity to win prizes.

Tuesday was a full day of activity, starting with great information from our speakers, great food and a little excitement by having severe storms causing a power outage at Turning Stone. 

It all worked out and we had the most successful annual PAC AUCTION 10 YEARS! Thanks to Phil Pecora, President and CEO of Genesee Regional Bank (and current IBANYS Vice Chairman) for donating two golf foursomes at the famous Oak Hill Country Club, and to ICBA CRA Solutions (David Lenoire and Kristine Lavigna) for doubling their "Ultimate Taste of Corkey's BBQ' auction gift as well. Thanks to all of the attendees who " bid high and bid often" to make the auction a great success!!

After dinner on Tuesday evening, we enjoyed a few hours with our friends at "Dueling Pianos Unlimited". During the show, Brad Bolton, former ICBA Chair, impressed everyone with his depiction of the "moonwalk"!!  

We are ending our conference today as political/public affairs pro (and Siena political pollster and analyst) Steven Greenberg gives us his thoughts on state and federal elections.  

LINDA AND I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING, PARTICIPATING, SPEAKING, SPONSORING AND DONATING TO THE SUCCESS OF THIS CONVENTION!

Meanwhile, Time to Save the Date for IBANYS Executive Leadership Symposium! Join us for IBANYS’ EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP SYMPOSIUM, October 7-9, 2024 at the 1000 Island Harbor Hotel in Clayton, N.Y. Watch your inboxes and IBANYS’ website for our meeting brochure with info on registration, program and sponsorship opportunities . . .coming soon.

A message worth sharing from Tioga State Bank: “We can’t stress this enough. The money you deposit with a #communitybank stays right here in the community supporting local businesses, community events, schools, t-ball teams, etc. Learn more at https://icba.org/bank-locally/why-bank-locally. #BankLocal #CommunityBanking.” Thanks to Tioga President & CEO Bob Fisher (former Chairman and current director of both IBANYS and ICBA) and his team for the words of wisdom!

OCC MDI Advisory Committee. The OCC is seeking nominations for members of its MDI Advisory Committee. It seeks officers or directors of OCC-regulated minority depository institutions or other OCC-regulated depository institutions with a commitment to supporting minority depository institutions. Nominations are due by Monday, Aug. 26. IBANYS board member Carlos Naudon (President & CEO, Ponce Bank in the Bronx) is a current member of the Advisory Committee. 

FDIC Webinars. The FDIC is scheduled to hold the second of four webinars for bank officers and employees on its final rule governing the usage of official FDIC signs, advertising, name, logo, and more. It’s set for Wednesday, July 31 at 2 p.m. on Microsoft Teams. The webinar will cover compliance topics and questions that have been raised by bankers, trade associations, and others since it issued the final rule. The final rule Part 328 of the FDIC’s regulations governing use of the official FDIC sign and advertisement statements reflect how depositors do business with banks today, including through digital and mobile channels. The rule became effective on April 1 and has a compliance date of Jan. 1, 2025. To register: The FDIC provided a Microsoft Teams link to join the event. (An FDIC webpage on its May webinar provides a slide deck from that event.)

Call Reports. Federal regulators released materials for submitting second-quarter call reports, which are due by Tuesday, July 30. There are no new data items for the FFIEC 031, FFIEC 041, or FFIEC 051 call reports for this quarter. The agencies are implementing revisions to several call report schedules to reflect the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB’s) update on measuring credit losses and reporting on loans to non-depository financial institutions. The supplemental instructions include additional guidance on certain reporting issues.

Feds List Distressed/Underserved Areas. Federal banking regulators issued the 2024 list of distressed or underserved nonmetropolitan middle-income geographies. These are geographic areas where revitalization or stabilization activities are eligible to receive CRA consideration under the community development definition.

As always, thanks for everything you do to support IBANYS and community banking in New York State!

. . . John

Pictures from the Convention

Convention Sponsors & Exhibitors

Sponsors to date

• BHG Financial
• COCC
• Federal Home Loan Bank of NY
• Gensis PPG
• Hartman Executive Advisors
• Heilbronner Consulting
• ICBA
• ICBA Securities
• InfoAgora
• Merchant Advocate
• NBS Group
• Ncontracts
• NEACH
• Plante Moran
• Piper Sandler
• Pursuit
• Roosevelt & Cross
• Shield Compliance
• Smith & Wilkinson
• Sunweath
• The Long Group
• The Bonadio Group
• Wolf & Company 

• Booth 1 – Pioneer 360
• Booth 2 – BHG Financial
• Booth 3 – DataSure 24
• Booth 4 – NES Group
• Booth 5 – Shield Compliance
• Booth 6 – La Macchia Group
• Booth 7 - ICBA
• Booth 8 – Lee & Mason
• Booth 9 – Strategic Resource Management (SRM)
• Booth 10 - Hartman Executive Advisors
• Booth 11 - Visa
• Booth 12 - Barret Graduate School of Banking
• Booth 13 - Travelers
• Booth 14 – Specialized Data Solutions
• Booth 15 – Genesis PPG
• Booth 16 – Acture Solutions
• Booth 17 – Dox Electronics, Inc.
• Booth 18 – Neach
• Booth 19 – Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
• Booth 20 – Ncontracts
• Booth 21 – Magee Company
• Booth 22 – PW Campbell
• Booth 23 – JMFA (Atvantage)
• Booth 24 - RelPro
• Booth 25 – Federal Home Loan Bank of NY
• Booth 26 – IntraFi
• Booth 27 – StrategyCorps
• Booth 28 – Wolf & Company
• Booth 29 – InfoAgora
• Booth 30 – The Long Group

July Webinars

IMPORTANT NOTICE: As you know, we partner with the Community Bankers Webinar Network (CBWN - https://financialedinc.com) to bring you a comprehensive range of webinar-based training topics each year. Currently, we have over 200 webinars to choose from. The revenue provided to us by CBWN helps to support your bank by supporting our mission.

Due to recent changes in email deliverability metrics, we are asking you to make sure you mark CBWN’s domains, @e.financialedinc.com and @financialedinc.com, as safe senders and forward this message to your bank’s IT department. If you want to limit the topics about which you receive webinar announcements, you can simply use this Manage Your Email Preferences link to choose only the topics you want to receive.

ICBA Information

Use This Code When Registering: NY-IBANYS

ALBANY UPDATE

LEGISLATIVE MATTERS

• The New York State Legislature is adjourned for the year, unless a special session is called.

• A Tone Change? State legislators have been reacting to the assassination attempt on former President Trump and the shooting death of a bystander – mostly acknowledging heightened rhetoric in recent years on both sides of the aisle and urging an adjustment in tone. Read more.

• Take It Off The Budget Table. The State Legislature wants to remove from the state budget negotiations table a program to helps New York homeowners facing instability stay in their home. The 2025 budget included $40 million for the Homeowner Protection Program, which provides legal counseling and services for low-income homeowners navigating mortgage delinquency, deed theft, predatory lending, scams and other threats. Read More

REGULATORY MATTERS

• Hochul: MWBE Backlog Over. Gov. Hochul announced the elimination of the state’s certification backlog for minority and women-owned business enterprises, stating: “Minority- and women-owned businesses are critical to New York's long-term economic success. New York is leveraging significant investments to empower minority and women business owners, achieve unprecedented MWBE utilization, and build a more equitable, more inclusive business environment." The Empire State Development’s Division of Minority- and Women-Owned Business Development will now be operating without a backlog of certification application for the first time in decades. The state exceeded its goal for MWBE utilization on New York State Contracts with a utilization rate of 32.3% during the 2023 fiscal year, the highest rate in the country for the third year in a row.

• DFS On Cybersecurity Regs. NYS DFS notes additional requirements become effective under the amended Cybersecurity Regulation. As of November 1, 2024, the following requirements will be effective for all covered entities, except those that qualify for an exemption. 1) Cybersecurity Governance; 2) Encryption of Nonpublic Information (NPI), and 3) Incident Response and Business Continuity Management. Learn more about the additional requirements: Exempt and Partially Exempt Entities| Standard Entities | Class A Entities. Smaller entities can determine if they have an exemption via the Cybersecurity Resource Center’s Part 500 Exemptions section or via the "Am I Exempt" flowchart. Questions about Cybersecurity? Visit the NYS DFS’s comprehensive cybersecurity resource: The Cybersecurity Resource Center. For additional questions related to the amended Cybersecurity Regulation, email DFS’s Cybersecurity team at cyberregsupport@dfs.ny.gov.

POLITICAL & ECONOMIC NEWS

• The Next Gubernatorial Race. 2026 is a long ways off politically, but that doesn’t mean that Gov. Kathy Hochul isn’t thinking about her next reelection – she plans to run again. Hochul raised more than $7.3 million in the first half of 2024, a record-breaking amount for any governor at this point in the election cycle. She has over $13.5 million cash on hand in her campaign account, and has raised over $22 million for her re-election campaign and the state party since January 2023. Read more. Speculation has already begun on who could be waiting in the wings to challenge Hochul or run to succeed her if she is not on the ballot. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s latest campaign filings show he paid nearly $70,000 to conduct polling earlier this year, and an attempted return to the executive mansion is also possible.

• Key State Leg Races To Watch. With the primaries now over, these are the state Senate and Assembly general election races to watch in November. Democrats have supermajorities (veto proof margins) in the Senate and Assembly, but the GOP hopes to chip away at those numbers. Two state legislative races are getting some national exposure from a Democratic group. City & State.  

• The Battle For N.Y. House Seats. Rep. Stefanik (R-North Country, Chair, House GOP Conference) is “bullish” on GOP chances in New York State and expects Republicans will be able to play offense in deep blue New York. The GOP is trying to block Democrats from “flipping” at least five congressional seats on Long Island, in the Hudson Valley and in Central New York. Stefanik is working to prevent Democratic success, bringing resources and money to help freshman GOP Representatives. However, Battleground House Democratic candidates in the state had a strong fundraising quarter despite troubles at the top of their ticket. Several are “flush” with cash and all have been fundraising competitively according to new campaign finance filings through June.

• The Election In N.Y. Part II. Some New York Democrats are divided over supporting President Biden’s re-election bid. Gov. Hochul strongly supports Biden, while Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado has urged him to withdraw. Read More. Meanwhile, Delgado’s Voice for New York PAC – aimed at mobilizing young voters between the ages of 18 and 34 in the state’s swing House districts – has already raised $350,000. A separate entity he launched earlier this year, Voice PAC, to help New York House Democratic candidates in battleground districts has raised more than $259,000, and has contributed to Democratic Reps. Pat Ryan (Hudson Valley) and Tom Suozzi (Long Island) and swing-seat challengers Mondaire Jones (Hudson Valley), Josh Riley, Laura Gillen (Long Island) and John Mannion (Syracuse).

• Who Are The NY Delegates? Who are the New Yorkers who represent the state at the Republican and Democratic national conventions, and how did they get that power? New York’s 91-member GOP delegation formally is fully supporting Donald Trump as the party’s presidential candidate at the 2024 Convention in Milwaukee. 

• Property Tax Growth Capped At 2%. According to data released by State Comptroller DiNapoli, property tax levy growth will be capped at 2% for 2025 for local governments that operate on a calendar-based fiscal year. That’s the biggest hike allowed under state law, and affects tax cap calculations for all counties, towns, and fire districts, as well as 44 cities and 13 villages. New York homeowners pay among the highest property taxes in the country. In 2011, the Legislature and then-Gov. Cuomo agreed to the cap on annual increases for local governments and school districts, limiting how much money can be raised from property taxes to either the rate of inflation or a 2% increase — whichever is lower. DiNapoli noted: "Allowable tax levy growth will be limited to 2% for a fourth consecutive year. The rate of inflation has decreased since the highs of 2022, but local governments are still facing higher prices for goods and services, moderating sales tax revenue collections, and an end to federal pandemic aid.” https://www.politico.com/newsletters/new-york-playbook/2024/07/12/the-political-third-rails-in-these-two-races-00167757?nname=new-york-playbook&nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b74f0000&nrid=00000152-f737-dcf0-a7d7-f73fb7700001&nlid=630317



CONGRESSIONAL UPDATE

• FDIC Nominee On Community Banks. Christy Goldsmith Romero, President Biden’s nominee for FDIC Chair, told the Senate Banking Committee’s nomination hearing she gained a great appreciation for community banks during her time at the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program., Goldsmith Romero said community banks play an important role in the nation’s economy and are the lifeblood of many communities across the country. Goldsmith Romero also said she is open to re-proposing the Basel III Endgame capital proposal. (Federal Reserve Chairman Powell said earlier this week that regulators should issue a revised Basel III Endgame proposal and that the Fed is working with the FDIC and OCC to reach agreement on the need for a new proposal.) The hearing also featured the nominations of Caroline Crenshaw to be a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Kristin Johnson to become assistant secretary of the Treasury, and Gordon Ito to become a member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council.

REGULATORY MATTERS

• FHLBNY Decision. A recent Federal Home Loan Bank of New York decision to impose new reporting requirements on member banks will restrict access to home loans, ICBA said. The FHLBank of New York recently told its member banks it will impose additional qualitative and quantitative information reporting requirements to align with the FHFA’s more restrictive approach to lending, which threatens to restrict access to home loans in local communities nationwide. In a national news release, ICBA said the nation’s community banks have repeatedly warned the Federal Housing Finance Agency not to disrupt the FHLBank System as an important source of liquidity for community banks. ICBA noted: “The FHLBank system has worked well for over 90 years, providing community banks with the liquidity needed to fund home mortgage lending and community development projects. The FHFA should ensure it does not disrupt the FHLBanks’ ability to remain a healthy and reliable source of funding for its member-owners.”

• ICBA To FHFA. In a comment letter this week on the FHFA’s review of the FHLBank System, ICBA said the agency should not create additional requirements that restrict FHLBank advances to members in good standing and with eligible collateral, which will reduce the availability of mortgage credit and community development funding in local communities when it is needed most. Following the FHFA’s comprehensive report last fall on the FHLBanks, ICBA urged the agency to ensure any new policies affecting the system do not disrupt it as a source of liquidity for community banks. ICBA offers a high-level summary of the report outlining its views on the agency’s policy recommendations.

• FinCEN & Beneficial Ownership. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s Deputy Director said most companies should be able to file beneficial ownership information reporting quickly and without the help of an attorney or accountant, noting the filing process for most businesses will take 20 minutes or less. He said small-business owners doing their best to comply with the law “should not lose sleep over the BOI reporting requirements” because the law only penalizes willful violations of the law. Under the Corporate Transparency Act—a bipartisan law enacted to curb illicit finance by supporting law enforcement efforts—many small businesses are now required to report basic information to the federal government about the real people who ultimately own or control them. ICBA has urged FinCEN to withdraw beneficial ownership requirements for banks now that it is required to collect this information directly from reporting companies. ICBA recently said FinCEN’s estimated burden of complying with its final rule on accessing beneficial ownership information does not accurately reflect the demands of collecting this information.

• Latest On HMDA Data. The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council released 2023 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data for 5,113 U.S. financial institutions. 1) The number of reporting institutions increased by roughly 14.6% from 4,460 the previous year; 2) Among the 10 million reported home loan applications, 7.7 million were closed-end, 2.1 million were open-end, and 266,000 were not reported either way due to the S. 2155 regulatory relief law's partial exemptions; 3) The share of mortgages originated by non-depository, independent mortgage companies accounted for 68.8% of reported loans, up from 60.2% in 2022; 4) The share of closed-end loans to African American borrowers rose from 8.1% to 8.2%, the share to Hispanic-White borrowers increased from 9.1% to 9.9%, and those made to Asian borrowers increased from 7.6% to 7.7%.

• CFPB On Pig Butchering. In a new speech, CFPB Director Chopra said “pig-butchering” scams collectively lead to billions of dollars in losses, noting: 1) Billions of messages are sent through texts, messaging apps, and social media to initiate pig-butchering scams, many coming from large-scale compounds in foreign countries; 2) Spotting scams is often difficult due to the enormous amount of personal data that is now available for sale to target individuals, along with technology that facilitates the cloning of voices and biometric indicators; 3) Many U.S. agencies are looking at scams and fraud that rely on cryptoassets. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team conducted a conference on pig butchering focused on preventing victimization, using technology to disrupt the fraud, and enforcement collaboration. Recent ICBA blog posts spotlight the growing pig-butchering scam, in which fraudsters use cryptocurrencies to defraud victims, and the need for a policy response.

• CSBS On Licensing System. The Conference of State Bank Supervisors announced the start the first phase of large-scale enhancements for the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System & Registry to improve the user experience and create greater efficiencies. CSBS said the system updates will resolve pain points for professionals across the mortgage, consumer finance, debt, and money services businesses industries who use NMLS to manage their state licensing or federal registration. The updates will include a new login experience, a new feedback system, and more.

POLITICAL & ECONOMIC MATTERS

• Trump Talks Second Term Matters. Former President and soon-to-be GOP nominee Trump recently sat down with Bloomberg’s Nancy Cook, Joshua Green and Mario Parker for an interview published yesterday. Trump said if he is elected, he would: 1) Allow Fed Chairman Powell serve out his term; 2) Hope to “bring the corporate tax rate to as low as 15%” and 3) Consider JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon as Treasury secretary. Read the transcript. 

• Community Banks More Optimistic. The Conference of State Bank Supervisors said its recent survey found community banks are slightly more optimistic about future economic conditions, and rated government regulation, the federal debt/deficit, cyberattacks, the cost and availability of labor, and inflation as their top concerns.

• Small Business Optimism Up, Too. The NFIB's Small Business Optimism Index reached the highest reading of the year in June at 91.5, a one-point increase from May. The index remained below its historical average of 98 for the 30th consecutive month, as businesses report inflation as their most important problem. NFIB advocates for America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals.

• Fed: Consumer Credit Up. The Federal Reserve reported consumer credit increased 2.7% in May after increasing 1.5% in April,. Revolving credit, which includes credit card spending, increased at an annual rate of 6.3%. Nonrevolving credit, such as auto and student loans, increased 1.4%.

• Check Fraud. ICBA asks community bankers to share their experiences and input on the challenge of check fraud. Community bankers can contact ICBA about check fraud issues, including the lack of responsiveness from large institutions, at checkfraud@icba.org. A recent ICBA Main Street Matters blog post discussed how ICBA is working to fight check fraud, including via the ICBA Check Fraud Task Force. In an earlier statement ICBA spotlighted check fraud issues like mail theft, fraudulent account opening, and large institutions of first deposit that are slow to reimburse community banks for unresolved checks. ICBA’s “Check Fraud: A Practical Guide to Altered, Forged, and Counterfeit Checks for Community Bankers” is designed to help ICBA-member community banks address check fraud, recover funds, and reduce losses.