28 HќќѠіђџȱ юћјђџ ѢљѦȱ2014 It has been uplifting to hear and to see. Washington has been positively abuzz lately with constructive dialogue about community banks and Main Street community banking. The speeches and congressional testimonies, the endorsements and the recommendations echoing the policy messages of the Independent Community Bankers of America have sounded from every corner of federal policymaking. Members of Congress, White ȱĜȱȱ¢ȱȱ have contributed to the discussions, demonstrating a critical awareness and understanding at the highest levels of government of community banking’s current priorities, challenges and issues. Our industry’s policy positions have not only been heard loud and clear, they also are understood as true, valid and important. And in our nation’s capitol, allies are ȱęȱ¢ȱǰȱȱ¢ȱ- standing and ultimately agreeing with your point of view. Just as important, policy action has accompanied the renewed talk. A few examples: % In addition to holding hearings on regulatory burden, members of Congress have continued to steadily advance several bills, putting many of ICBA’s major Plan for Prosperity regulatory relief measures in line to become law, possibly this year or next. % Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and Gov. Daniel Tarullo, who heads up the Fed’s supervision, called for a more proportionally tiered regulatory framework, spe- ę¢ȱȱȱ¡ȱȱ on community banks. Yellen pledged further action by the Fed, while also backing other ICBA priorities, such as ensuring the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s “expected loss” accounting proposal does not yoke community banks with complex modeling processes. % A chorus of members of Congress and others have been urging President Barack Obama to appoint a Federal Reserve governor ȱęȱ¢ȱ- ing knowledge or experience. Lawmakers are debating whether to require such experience on the board. % After releasing a study on industry consolidation and community banks, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. began issuing a separate set of community banking statistics as part of its quarterly industry reports, a move recognizing how overall industry-wide statistics can obscure and misrepresent ȱ¢ȱěȱȱ- ties of megabanks and community banks. % With outspoken and enthusiastic support from the president, a California community banker, Maria Contreras-Sweet, was appointed to lead the Small Business Administration. These milestones didn’t occur by ǯȱ ¢ȱĚȱȱȱ appreciation for community banks, resulting from persistent advocacy work over many months and years by tenacious community bankers. They also signal our industry’s real, concrete progress overall in Washington and, most importantly, the ęȱȱȱ Ȃȱȱ to achieving. While riding a rolling freight train, it can be hard to distinguish the forest from the trees. Depending on your perspective, the scenery easily blurs. It’s easy to lose sight of our collective progress—and your bank’s progress—amid the daily rush, tumult and focus of promoting and defending our industry’s immediate and long-range interests as we do. And it’s more challenging still that our ȱȯĴȱ¢ȱ overkill, expanding tiered regulation and reining back too-big-to-fail—are intertwined. None can be fully and Ĝ¢ȱȱ ȱȱ ę¡ȱȱǰȱ¢ȱȱ¡ȱ issues must often be dealt with separately, through piecemeal policymaking. Despite these challenges, this train is rolling with steady and undeniable momentum. So don’t lose the forest for the trees. Don’t forget how we defeated Wal-Mart. Remember how we achieved asset-based FDIC assessments. Keep an eye on the horizon. If we stay on our task, we’ll arrive at our destination before you know it. ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱȱ FEATURE яќѢѡȱѡѕђȱ Ѣѡѕќџ ȱ ǯȱ is president and chief executive officer of the ȱ ¢ȱ ȱ ȱ . He came to ICBA from Midwest ȱ ǰȱ ěȱ ¢ǰȱ ǯǰȱ ȱȱ chartered and organized the bankers’ bank and served as president and CEO for nearly 20 years. A long-time member of ICBA prior to becoming the association’s president and CEO, Fine served on ȱȱȱĴȱȱȱȱ ȱȱȱǯȱ ȱȱȱȱȱDZȱǯęȓǯǯ
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTg3NDExNQ==