Effectively meeting interindustry competition requires banker cooperation. segment is fighting to improve its regulatory advantage relative to other industry segments and fighting to improve the rules they play by. If banks do not constantly cooperate and participate in political engagement to protect and improve their competitive niche in the financial services industry, others will gain an advantage at bankers’ expense. The good news is that the banking industry and specifically the West Virginia banking industry have — and continue to — cooperate successfully. Through state and national political action donations, the industry has helped elect leaders who are addressing legislative and regulatory overreach. Through banker-guided advocacy at the state and federal level, the banking industry is successfully pushing back against aggressive moves by the crypto industry to drain community bank deposits by paying interest on stablecoin holdings. Banking advocacy directed to banking regulators is leading to substantial improvements in how our regulators interpret and enforce administrative rules. In West Virginia, we are seeing the fruits of an ambitious and successful banker cooperation effort with the launch of the Security for Public Deposits Program by the West Virginia State Treasurer. In 2022, at the banking industry’s urging, the West Virginia legislature enacted the Security for Public Deposits Act to modernize and improve the process whereby banks collateralize the deposits they hold for public entities in West Virginia. With assistance from the state’s banking associations, dozens of bank leaders embarked on a multi-year project to work with the West Virginia State Treasurer to create a program that realizes the industry’s hopes for improved liquidity and efficiency in meeting the needs of their governmental depositors. The entire banking industry should applaud the cooperation of so many committed bank leaders. Bankers are competitive by nature. But it is their enlightened commitment to cooperation that will ensure that their banks remain competitive and relevant in the future. 5 WEST VIRGINIA BANKER
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