Pub. 11 2021-2022 Issue 3-1

coloradobankers.org 4 continued from page 2 National economic malaise from the 1970s energy crisis produced the energy boom seeking the world’s richest oil shale deposits in northwestern Colorado (>1.5 trillion barrels of oil). That boom pulled thousands of workers to Colorado; Denver was called the “energy capital of the world.” Colorado and banking prospered, much of Denver’s skyline was built, and the Dynasty TV show documented that prosperity. In 1975, Colorado had 277 banks; that swelled by 195 (70%) in 10 years to our peak of 472 in 1986. In 1984 alone, 46 banks were chartered in Colorado. Year Banks Change 1975 277 NA 1986 472 +70% 1995 231 -51% 2020 67 -71% + 55 out-of-state banks The disasters in 1985-1995 of the ag crisis, energy bust, real estate collapse, and S&L implosion (following deregulation of S&Ls and bank rates) and the onset of branch banking saw 241 Colorado banks disappear to 231 (-51%). Then, from 1995 to the present, further consolidation from branching, interstate banking and M&A reduced bank numbers another 164 (-71%) to today’s 67 Colorado-domiciled banks – plus the 55 out- of-state banks both large and small that do business here. Those 122 banks operate close to 1,400 branches. Over 400 banks were gone, marking a transition from hundreds of banks with dedicated markets decades ago to today’s highly competitive and consolidated industry. Denver-based Silverado Savings became a poster child of the S&L scandal. Black Sunday, May 1982: low oil prices caused Exon to pull the plug on massive oil shale development in Western Colorado. Denver was teased nationally about “see-through” buildings. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chair Bill Seidman (frequent CBA guest and speaker) also ran RTC managing huge assets from failed S&Ls and banks. CBA held a special convention in 1985 on branching; both proponents and opponents saw branching as a key factor in their survival; both thought they would win the CBA vote. Proponents won. Starting in 1991, Colorado phased in branch banking: limited branching initially, unlimited by 1997. In 1995 Colorado permitted interstate banking, except First Bank System (MN, now US Bank) was allowed to pay fees earlier to Colorado to partially reimburse depositors after the industrial banks, and their state guarantee fund collapsed. A housing bubble produced the 2008 meltdown, and Congress authorized $700 billion (a huge amount then) to purchase distressed assets. Coincidentally, the Democratic National Convention was held in Denver that year. In 2010, the Dodd/Frank Act adoption saw intense lobbying: two weeks on the floor of the Senate, 400-plus amendments, 2,319 pages. Most big congressional bills are debated for a couple of days and contain a few dozen amendments. It was a fight to anticipate, analyze, and lobby that volume. Colorado legalized marijuana in 2012, effective 2014. A Feb. 14, 2014 international media feeding frenzy occurred at CBA when we said FinCEN’s “green light” was yellow at best, actually red for most. Under one-party control in Colorado (for the Democrats), CBA was able to protect banking generally, but business has been beaten up badly. Jan. 16, 2020, at the urging of the CBA, the Colorado banking board blocked a credit union purchase of a bank (the first one stopped in the U.S.). The COVID shutdown started two months later, and banks scrambled to make PPP loans. A mess at first, banks became heroes making 90% of loans, 95% of dollars for the 200,000 Colorado loans ($15B), the most completed during the first couple of weeks of the shutdown. HIGHLIGHTS Your CBA, I’m proud to say, has been able to deliver robust results to member banks. Our perseverance and proactivity generated an incredibly strong state government relations record with significant impact federally. Our member education and information efforts have been strong and dynamic for our changing industry. Government relations – CBA’s reputation on state-level government relations reflects our nearly 100% success rate and stems from both successful defensive work, and instigating and advocating a long list of innovative pro-bank legislation on dozens of topics (often “first in the U.S.”). During the 40 years between 1975 and 2015, we worked on approximately 5,000 bills, and while we agreed to reasonable compromises, CBA lost only two bills in 40 years. Nationally, CBA has a reputation as an