Tomorrow is Independence Day. As we gather with family and friends to enjoy the summer season, fireworks, backyard and neighborhood cookouts and celebrate together, let's also remember what it is we are celebrating. As former Senator and noted orator Daniel Webster once famously said back in 1830: "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable!". . .And in the words of another great American, George Bernard Shaw: "Liberty is the breath of life to nations." New York's community banks represent the very best of American values and traditions and practice them every day. IBANYS is honored to represent you, and all you do. We wish you all a safe, healthy & happy July 4th holiday!!

# # #

• In less than two weeks, IBANYS’ 2024 Annual Convention at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino July 15 – 17 (Turning Stone Resort & Casino) will celebrate IBANYS’ Golden Anniversary – 50 years of representing New York community banks . . .as your voice at the table. . . protecting your interests, advocating for your priorities and needs, and working toward a better future for you and the communities and customers you serve. A half-century later, we are still the “only voice solely representing community banking” in our state. 

• So: Join your colleagues and help make this the biggest event in IBANYS history. Our vendors, preferred partners and associate members have stepped up, , ,sponsorships have sold at a record pace. . .tradeshow booths are sold out. Let’s show our appreciation for their support -- of our convention and anniversary celebration, AND for all they do for New York’s community banking industry and IBANYS year-in and year-out.

• Book your room by contacting the Turning Stone Resort & Casino. If you can’t attend the entire event, we offer day passes.

• We have a few special treats for golfers this year. There is a “Hole-in-One contest” for Super Bowl Tickets (This HAS to be the year for the Buffalo Bills.) Sign up to play through the registration form in the brochure on our website: https://ibanys.net/meetings-schedule. The shotgun tourney starts at 11:00 a.m. Monday, July 15.

• Enjoy our “Poker Run Vendor Appreciation” night Monday on the tradeshow floor. Visit each booth, get a playing card and build your best 5 card hands (6 hands total) and bring your winning hands to IBANYS’ “dealer table” to win raffle tickets. . .rules will be provided and will also be in the program book. Raffle tickets will be drawn during dinner. . .win up to $1000.

• You won’t want to miss our Educational Sessions — Industry experts will share their knowledge and expertise on an array of topics important to the community banks in today’s ever changing and challenging environment. Check our program agenda on our website at https://ibanys.net/meetings-schedule/

• Join us on the Tradeshow floor Tuesday evening for IBANYS’ traditional Silent Auction and visit each vendor to see what item is up for bid. This event supports our PAC. I will serve as “MC” of the night.

• We'll have Great Entertainment! Dueling Piano Show Extravaganza after Tuesday’s dinner, back by popular demand!

• And, Our Endnote Speaker — Steven Greenberg, Founder and Principal, Greenberg Public Relations — will share his thoughts on the upcoming state, presidential and congressional elections, utilizing his highly respected Siena Polls.

. . . We hope to see you all at the Turning Stone in less than two weeks. 

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Nominations for Independent Banker magazine’s 2024 Best Community Banks to Work For awards are due this Friday, July 5, when eligible community banks must submit nominations by 11:59 p.m. (Eastern time). Winning banks will be recognized in the December issue of Independent Banker, the 2025 ICBA LIVE annual convention, and other ICBA channels.  Once nominated, full-time employees of each nominated bank will be asked to complete a comprehensive workplace survey in August. Banks in five asset categories with the highest index scores will be selected as winners. Submit nominations. 

This month’s Independent Banker magazine recognizes the top lenders of 2024, the top community bank loan producers based on 2023 FDIC data. It features agricultural, commercial, and consumer and mortgage lenders across three asset classes—less than $300 million in assets, $300 million to $1 billion, and more than $1 billion. The July edition of Independent Banker also includes articles on change management, digital banking platforms, cannabis banking compliance, equal lending practices, and more. The magazine is available on the Independent Banker website and via the digital edition. 

. . .John

Convention Events

Golf — sign-up today (shot gun start 11:00 a.m. Mon., July 15). This is a stress-free, fun event and all levels of golfers are welcome. The tourney is a scramble and fun is had by all. Best of all, “Lady Luck” could be on your side to win a pair of tickets to Superbowl 59. Hit a hole-in-one on the designated tee and you’re going to the “Big Game”!!

Poker Run — “Vendor Appreciation” Monday night on the tradeshow floor. Visit each booth – get a playing card and build your best 5 card hands (6 hands total) bring your winning hands to IBANYS dealer table and win raffle tickets for your winning hands (rules will be provided and in the program book). Raffle tickets will be drawn during dinner – you could win up to $1000.

Silent Auction — Join us on the Tradeshow floor Tuesday evening and visit each vendor to see what item is up for bid. This event supports our PAC. Our very own John Witkowski with MC the night.

Dueling Piano Show Extravaganza!! Following dinner Tuesday evening.



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
• NBS Group
• Ncontracts
• NEACH
• Plante Moran
• Piper Sandler
• Pursuit
• Roosevelt & Cross
• Shield Compliance
• Sunweath
• The Long Group
• The Bonadio Group
• Wolf & Company 

Click the link above to obtain the detailed convention meeting brochure which includes the meeting agenda, registration information, exhibitor booths are sold out.  There are a few sponsorship opportunities still available, golf details and much more. We are looking forward to you joining us in July at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino to help IBANYS celebrate our 50^th Anniversary!!

• 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

Aug 8-9, 2024                           Virtual/Live Training

NEW DATES

  HR Management 2024

Instructor, Kerry Sauley, is the Marjorie B. Ourso Excellence in Teaching Professor at Rucks Department of Management, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA.

This workshop is designed to provide intensive training for employees in Human Resources Management.

TOPICS INCLUDE

• Employee Recruitment, Selection, and Placement
• Situational and Behavioral Interviewing
• Driving Employee Engagement
• Creating an Accountability Culture

AUDIENCE

• Human Resource Managers
• Branch Managers
• Department/Division Managers
• Management/Hiring/Coaching/

      Counseling Responsibilities

PRICE:

In Person: $695

VIRTUAL (VIA ZOOM): $595

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 UPDATE

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

• There They Go Again? Weeks after Gov. Hochul abruptly pulled the plug on New York City’s congestion pricing program late in the legislative session, state legislators have privately begun an informal campaign to persuade her to move ahead with the tolls but to make them less expensive, The New York Times reports.

REGULATORY UPDATE

• New Guidance For Insurers. Governor Hochul announced new guidance informing insurers they are prohibited from inquiring about or making coverage decisions based on a property’s status as an affordable housing development or on the level or source of a tenant’s income within the building, such as government assistance. https://www.dfs.ny.gov/Newsroom. The guidance from the New York State Department of Financial Services follows legislation that was part of the FY 2025 Budget to prohibit discrimination in insurance based on tenants’ source of income or the existence of affordable dwelling units within the building. State DFS Superintendent Harris called it “a critical step to ensure that New York’s affordable housing providers are not discriminated against. I am incredibly proud of the work that this Department has done to address discrimination, in service of our mission to build a more equitable financial services system.”  Read the Circular Letter Here .

ECONOMIC & POLITICAL INSIGHTS 

• Tourism Employment Down. A report released Tuesday by Comptroller DiNapoli’s office found employment in the tourism industry stands 4.3% below levels seen before the Covid pandemic. This impacts not only New York City but also upstate communities, which rely heavily on tourism dollars for their local economies. New York’s economy lost nearly $11 billion due to the pandemic, although the industry bounced back by 2023. State park attendance shot up by 9.1% last year compared to 2020.

• She’s Running Again. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul plans to run for another term as governor in 2026: “2026 may be a long way off, (but) I’m running,” she said. “I’m preparing for that race.”  Read More.

• And So Is He. Gov. Hochul gave no indication she plans to switch running mates in 2026: “I have a very strong relationship with my lieutenant governor. We communicate regularly, he’s doing a phenomenal job traveling the state, promoting some of his signature initiatives.” Lt. Gov. Delgado, previously represented a battleground House seat in Hudson Valley. He has raised his profile, launching a political action committee to aid Democratic House candidates running in swing districts after keeping a relatively low profile in Albany. https://www.politico.com/newsletters/new-york-playbook-pm/2024/07/02/biden-debate-new-york-house-dems-step-down-00166312?nname=new-york-playbook-pm&nid=00000177-6f21-d412-abff-6ff79d730000&nrid=00000152-f737-dcf0-a7d7-f73fb7700001&nlid=2693080

• A Fine Farewell. Gov. Hochul is losing a key adviser in her administration. Her top counsel, Liz Fine, will depart this fall, Hochul’s office told POLITICO Friday. Fine was one of the first Hochul hires when she became Governor in 2021 following the resignation of former Gov. Cuomo. Hochul has leaned heavily on her for the administration's legislative and policy priorities. Fine will help in the search for her successor, then pursue a job in the private sector but remain a Hochul appointee as an unpaid commissioner on the board of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. No final date for Fine's departure has been set, but she is expected to leave the counsel's office in September. https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2024/06/top-kathy-hochul-counsel-liz-fine-plans-exit-00165738?source=email.

• The Top 10. Here's a look at 10 battleground state districts influenced by last week’s primary results. POLITICO Pro.

• Low Turnout. According to State Board of Elections data, only 15% of eligible voters participated in the 44 local, state and federal primary contests primaries, and there are new calls for state legislators to open them up to more New Yorkers. New York's primaries are closed, one of only 10 states with a completely closed primary process. Only voters registered in a political party can vote in that party's race. State of Politics.

• They’re Not Saying. . .Yet. New York Democrats in competitive races are largely avoiding the question of whether President Biden should step aside and open the Democratic nomination to someone else. In New York, six competitive House seats may decide control of the chamber and the fate of the country. https://www.politico.com/newsletters/new-york-playbook-pm/2024/07/02/biden-debate-new-york-house-dems-step-down-00166312?nname=new-york-playbook-pm&nid=00000177-6f21-d412-abff-6ff79d730000&nrid=00000152-f737-dcf0-a7d7-f73fb7700001&nlid=2693080

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Congress is out of session for the July 4 recess.

• Farm Bill Update. Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Stabenow (D-MI.) called for negotiations on the next farm bill. In a blog post, she said Congress should end the politics around the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, saying year-to-year changes in SNAP spending do not take funds away from other farm bill programs. Senate Ag Ranking GOP Member Boozman (R-AR) recently released the Senate Republican framework for the next farm bill, which he said shares common ground with Democratic counterparts on key priorities. It builds on the momentum from the House Agriculture Committee’s passage of its version of the farm bill last month. Stabenow recently released a section-by-section breakdown of her farm bill priorities and would like to negotiate with Republicans before scheduling a markup. After the House markup, ICBA said the House bill has numerous positive enhancements (e.g., commodity price and crop insurance supports), but noted concerning provisions (e.g., ICBA-opposed provisions to expand the Farm Credit System’s nonfarm lending authority and disparate regulatory treatment.) Community banks: Use ICBA's "Be Heard" grassroots action center to call and write your members of Congress on the industry’s farm bill priorities.

• Latest On National Data Privacy Standard. ICBA and other groups expressed opposition to legislation that would establish a national data privacy standard. The American Privacy Rights Act, which the House Energy and Commerce Committee is scheduled to mark up today, would preempt many state data security laws, but does not include clear language exempting financial institutions subject to Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act data security standards. Ahead of the markup, ICBA and other groups said the bill fails to address previous concerns raised before a subcommittee markup last month, so they oppose the legislation. In a joint letter last month, the groups urged the subcommittee to amend the bill to exempt all financial institutions subject to Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act regulations. The groups said failing to include a clear exemption would lead to duplicative and conflicting requirements for financial institutions already subject to GLBA oversight. ICBA will continue to engage with the committee to ensure community banks aren’t burdened with unnecessarily duplicative requirements as this legislation is considered.

REGULATORY & JUDICIAL UPDATES

• Major Court Ruling On Agencies. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 40-year Chevron doctrine that required federal courts to defer to agencies’ reasonable interpretations of ambiguous statutes. Established by the 1984 Chevron v. National Resources Defense Council decision involving the Clean Air Act, it has facilitated broad agency discretion in rulemaking. In this new 6-3 decision the Court held that Chevron deference to regulatory agencies defies the Administrative Procedure Act that governs them. The Court held that: 1) The Administrative Procedure Act “requires courts to exercise their independent judgment in deciding whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority; 2) Courts may not defer to an agency interpretation of law simply because a statute is ambiguous”; 3) Agencies have no “special competence” in resolving statutory ambiguities, which should be left to the courts. The decision does not call into question prior cases that relied on the Chevron framework, but likely will lead to legal challenges to regulations that depend on administrative interpretations of federal laws, with courts now wielding more authority to invalidate regulatory actions that are inconsistent with statutory authority and the Administrative Procedure Act. ICBA recently filed two complaints in federal court challenging the CFPB’s 1071 small-business final rule and the FDIC’s, OCC’s, and Fed’s final rule on CRA, alleging the agencies exceeded their statutory authorities and that the final rules are arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act.

• What CFPB Exams Found. The CFPB said that its recent exams revealed unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts at companies servicing auto loan and student loans; Fair Debt Collection Practices Act violations by debt collectors, and Issues with medical payment products. The agency found: 1) Auto loan servicers mishandled consumers’ final loan payments; 2) Student loan servicers created excessive barriers to assistance, provided inaccurate information about benefit forms, and failed to notify consumers about funds transfers; 3) Debt collectors violated disclosure requirements and misled borrowers; 4) Consumer complaints about medical credit cards, and 5) Unfair practices in how some institutions communicated with consumers about account freezes. The CFPB also assessed industry compliance with Section 1034(c) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act, which prohibits large banks and credit unions from creating unreasonable barriers, such as excessive fees, for customers seeking basic account information. The CFPB last month issued a proposed rule that would stop credit reporting companies from sharing medical debts with lenders and prohibit lenders from making lending decisions based on medical information. ICBA—which opposes efforts that limit the value of credit scores—last week requested a 30-day extension of the comment period.

• Digital Assets Reporting Requirements. Treasury and the IRS released a final rule establishing reporting requirements for brokers of digital assets with ICBA-advocated provisions to promote a level playing field. Read the final rule. In a comment letter last fall, ICBA said the rule: 1) Helps to provide taxpayers with relevant information and clarifies reporting requirements for digital assets brokers; 2) Promotes a level playing field by applying comparable information reporting requirements to brokers of digital and traditional assets; 3) Properly defines digital assets brokers to include decentralized finance exchanges and decentralized autonomous organizations. In a separate comment letter, ICBA said recordkeeping and reporting requirements on crypto transactions are not enough to adequately protect U.S. consumers and businesses. ICBA also supports global efforts to advance international crypto asset regulation, including the International Organization of Securities Commissions’ baseline policy recommendations.

• FinCen, BSA & AML. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a proposed rule to strengthen anti-money-laundering and countering-the-financing-of-terrorism requirements. The proposal follows last week’s proposed rule from federal banking regulators that would amend AML/CFT requirements to align with FinCEN’s proposed changes under the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020. In a 2022 comment letter, ICBA laid out its plan for FinCEN to modernize its BSA framework. ICBA urged the agency to raise Suspicious Activity Report and Currency Transaction Report thresholds and withdraw bank beneficial ownership collection and verification.

• SARS’ Impact On Community Banks. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network underestimates the amount of time and resources community banks dedicate to reporting suspicious activity, ICBA told the agency. In a comment letter and joint letter with other financial industry groups, ICBA said FinCEN’s estimate that each suspicious activity report, or SAR, takes roughly 1.98 hours to file is grossly undervalued. In its comments, ICBA: 1) Urged FinCEN to take a comprehensive approach to calculating all the factors that determine the amount of time it takes to process a SAR. 2) Reiterated its support for increasing the SAR reporting threshold to $10,000. 3) Noted SAR filings are part of a cumbersome and overly burdensome regulatory environment that hampers community banks’ ability to serve their customers and communities.

 INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

• GM Withdraws Deposit Insurance Application. General Motors withdrew its ICBA-and IBANYS-opposed application for deposit insurance, suspending its bid to form an industrial loan company. GM said the Utah Department of Financial Institutions this month approved its application to form GM Financial Bank, which the automaker filed in December 2020. GM said it would refile with the FDIC and UDFI. In the American Banker, ICBA reiterated concerns with the ILC charter—which allows parent companies to skirt regulatory oversight and violate U.S. policy separating banking and commerce—and said GM’s withdrawal should deter other companies from pursuing similar charters. ICBA in 2021 called on the FDIC to reject GM Financial Bank's deposit insurance application as an ILC. In that letter, ICBA cited GM's previous failed incursion into banking, which led to the collapse of GMAC, contributed to the 2008 financial crisis, and required three rounds of taxpayer-funded bailouts to save GM. GM’s announcement came after the FDIC last week approved the formation of Thrivent Bank as an ILC. In a national news release following that announcement, ICBA expressed its opposition and said Congress should pass the Close the Shadow Banking Loophole Act (S. 3538) to require companies that acquire an ILC to be subject to the same consolidated supervision by the Federal Reserve as any other bank holding company. ICBA has detailed the evolution of the ILC charter in a comprehensive white paper. Community bankers can use ICBA’s Be Heard grassroots action center to urge their senators to co-sponsor the Close the Shadow Banking Loophole Act.

• Latest On Credit Unions. In an op-ed, the Mississippi Bankers Association said large credit unions are using the savings from their federal tax exemption to acquire taxpaying community banks at an alarming rate. The op-ed—which ran in publications including the Greenwood Commonwealth and Indianola Enterprise-Tocsin—noted while Mississippi and other states have passed laws to provide for a fairer acquisition environment, Congress must step up. Fed Governor Bowman raised concerns with credit union acquisitions of banks, noting the tax-exempt financial firms are exempt from CRA. CFPB Director Chopra told Congress it should consider applying CRA requirements to credit unions and other nonbanks. Members of Congress have launched inquiries on CNN’s report about Navy Federal Credit Union’s racial disparities in mortgage approval rates. According to ICBA polling, 68% of adults said credit union customers should have the same CRA protections that banks provide. After the latest acquisition of a tax-paying bank by a tax-exempt credit union, ICBA said the trend is a matter of federal policy and requires congressional action. Community banks: Use ICBA’s Be Heard grassroots action center Urge your Members of Congress to hold a hearing on credit union policy. More resources available on the ICBA website.

• Check Fraud Guide. ICBA recently developed the ICBA Check Fraud Resource Guide, which provides general information to help community banks both minimize the incidents of check fraud related to altered, forged, and counterfeit checks and take appropriate steps to recover funds or otherwise minimize loss, when it does occur. The guide is full of helpful resources for community bankers dealing with this issue and has been well-received by those who have downloaded the information. Clicking on this link will bring you to a landing page on the ICBA website, where you can fill out a form and gain access to the guide after receiving this email from ICBA. (In full disclosure, ICBA will likely reach out to any non-ICBA members that downloads the guide.)