17 Hoosier Banker December 2015 About the Author Frank Keating was named president and chief executive officer of the American Bankers Association in 2011. His appointment followed seven years of service as president and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers and after serving two terms as governor of Oklahoma. Keating’s 30year career in law enforcement and public service included stints as an FBI agent, U.S. attorney and state prosecutor, and Oklahoma House and Senate member. Author of three award-winning children’s biographies, he earned an undergraduate degree from Georgetown University, a law degree from the University of Oklahoma and is the recipient of five honorary degrees. Keating is retiring from ABA, effective Dec. 31. done together. We have, for instance, put a real face on the industry with our America’s Hometown Banker ads, and we’ve made a point to tell policymakers how proposals affect not our banks or bottom lines, but our customers and communities. That’s putting it in language policymakers understand best and care about most. Of course, there is so much that remains on the industry’s to-do list. Dodd-Frank Act provisions, including the dreadful Durbin interchange amendment, have proved difficult to undo. As I write this, ABA is working with the state associations on a noholds-barred effort to persuade the Senate to pass regulatory relief. And we are continuing to press regulators to do what they can to tailor rules, making them appropriate for banks of different business models and risk profiles. One example: We have proposed to regulators – and they seem receptive – that well-capitalized community banks be exempted from complex Basel III capital calculations. The key to our future success is the same as it is today: banker engagement. Not that ABA and the state associations don’t play an important role in advocating for you. But when it’s time to cast a vote – on a rule or a bill – a policymaker is most likely to be persuaded by his or her constituents. That means they must hear from you. Regularly. I also urge you to engage at a broader political level. No doubt the 2016 elections will have a big impact on our industry. You can help shape the outcome of races by offering your time and talents to candidates, and by contributing to organizations like BankPac and the Financial Education and Advocacy Initiative, the 501(c)4 that ABA set up in 2012 to provide another avenue for banker political participation. Your continued engagement and partnership with your trade associations is a difference-maker. Please give them all you’ve got. The banking industry’s future is in your hands As for my future, I will leave ABA on Dec. 31 proud of having served a white-hat industry and grateful for the chance to have worked with the industry’s finest leaders. Thank you for your support, and thank you for all you do for our great nation. t Karen I. Miller, 60, president and chief executive officer of The Farmers Bank, Frankfort, died Nov. 6. She also was a member of the board of directors of the Indiana Bankers Association, serving as a northwest region director. Miller joined The Farmers Bank in 1995 and was named president and CEO in 2006. She previously was employed for 10 years with the former Clinton County Bank & Trust, Frankfort, prior to which she was a staff accountant for nine years with the CPA firm of C.S. Oats Accountancy Corp., Lebanon. Miller served on the boards of directors of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, the Clinton County Chamber of Commerce and the Clinton County Community Foundation. Additionally she was president of Clinton County Partners in Progress, a member of the Indiana CPA Society financial services committee, and past president of Frankfort Main Street. A member of First Christian Church, Miller was a graduate of Ball State University. Paul E. Shaffer, 89, retired chairman and chief executive officer of Fort Wayne National Bank, died Nov. 8. He was a past president of the Indiana Bankers Association, serving in 1978-79. Shaffer began his career in in MeMory of 1945 with Rockford National Bank, and rejoined the bank in 1952 after service as assistant national bank examiner of the Treasury Department of the Fourth Federal Reserve district. He was named president of the bank in 1968, chairman of the board and CEO of Fort Wayne National Corp. in 1970, and chairman emeritus in 1993; he retired in 1995. Shaffer served on the governing panel of the American Bankers Association and earned the Junior Achievement Gold Leader Award, the first Annual Presidents Award by the Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce and the Sagamore of the Wabash. He was a member of the IBA Forty Year Club and an Air Force veteran of World War II. t
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