Pub. 11 2021-2022 Issue 3-1

November • December 2021 5 aggressive and effective lobbying force and is prominent among state bankers associations leading the fight for banking’s agenda. We owe much of that to one attitude: CBA perseveres. We out-work and out-think the opposition; we never give up. It reflects a slogan from my childhood, “If it doesn’t fit, get a bigger hammer.” Our industry has had many major legislative fights on foreclosure, marijuana, unclaimed property, lender liability, data privacy, fraudulent transfers, appraisals, construction defects, compliance documentation, unclaimed property, public deposits, credit unions, and more. We also fought several ballot initiatives that plague our state. We prevailed on many, but not all. Out of dozens of expensive ballot fights, the big ones were: • Repeated efforts to increase Colorado income taxes – always rebuffed, CBA always vigorously opposed • Marijuana – adopted in 2012, effective 2014 • Foreclosures – against all odds, CBA prevailed on a measure to restrict foreclosures after the 2008 meltdown • Among several dozen others, CBA killed proposals for a state-owned bank eight times (four in the Colorado Supreme Court) Our advocacy in Washington, D.C. has involved hundreds of meetings with members of Congress, dozens in the fall of 2008 alone. CBA has made approximately 40 annual Washington visits with hundreds of bankers. I’ve made about 200 total trips to D.C., had dozens of meetings with regulators including Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen, and members of Congress like Barney Frank and John McCain regarding hundreds of issues. I also conducted dozens of night tours of Washington, D.C. for Colorado bankers. CBA established the Center for Bank Advocacy (beginning in 2013 and continuing today): a training practicum with 100-plus bankers completing the yearlong program to become polished banking advocates. Public image – Through the years, we’ve reacted on media topics like failed banks, ag foreclosures, 2008 meltdown causes, home foreclosures, bank bailouts. We worked proactively to build confidence in banks; we emphasized small business lending, financial literacy, Y2K. Major media – Al Jazeera, BBC and every U.S. news network, American Banker, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Washington Post – have reached out to CBA. Banker education – CBA hosted many big conferences in the 1980s when we had hundreds of banks. For years we sponsored annual conferences at the Broadmoor on commercial lending, consumer banking, mortgage lending, ag banking, trust, investment, public funds, senior management. The contrast with today’s efficient and focused meetings and Zoom calls demonstrates the industry’s transformation as today’s competitive industry emerged from prosperous banking with dedicated markets in previous times. For example, at the big annual conventions (with approximately 1,500 attendees) in the 1980s, we had big-name entertainment and national speakers like Tom Brokaw, cabinet members, senators, governors, business leaders, and political analysts. Many correspondent bankers across the U.S. attended, as did the entire boards of directors of some member banks. We hosted sports activities and huge cookouts; annually, in the most prosperous years, the concluding dinner required two huge simultaneous receptions followed by three giant concurrent dinners. Outreach – Until the late 1990s, we annually conducted the “Caravan” to nine Colorado towns accompanied by correspondent bankers; we provided education and social interaction with several hundred in attendance at many locations. In fact, I met CBA at a Grand Junction Caravan meeting when my boss, Congressman Jim Johnson, was to speak to the Colorado Bakers Association only to find out it was the Colorado Bankers Association. We had a good laugh at the typo, and I got a great job. Information – CBA transitioned from hard copy bulletins mailed to recipients to electronic newsletters and websites. CBA led the way nationally in 1994 (pre-internet), with an amazing site that provided the nation’s only online access to the daily American Banker newspaper and an incredible database of all public data on individuals/companies – liens, crimes, real estate, cars, boats, planes, stocks, property tax assessment. That site later morphed into coloradobankers.org. And CBA utilized Zoom five years prior to 2020s COVID surge. Administration – As consolidation reduced the need for education and other services, CBA staff shrunk concurrently. CBA operates with about a quarter of the staff of similarly sized states. Today our I.T. is typical of a small business, but I recall our first computers in the late 1970s, recorded on cassette tapes, predating the now ancient 4.5” floppy disks. continued on page 6