5 Hoosier Banker May 2016 regulatory relief bill. We have been blessed to have Sen. Joe Donnelly sitting on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and Rep. Marlin Stutzman and Rep. Luke Messer sitting on the House Financial Services Committee. All three of these statesmen have been and remain supportive of bank regulatory relief. All three have led efforts to achieve it. All three have worked with the Indiana banking community in formulating their plans. We appreciate their support and leadership. This year’s IBA Annual Washington Trip, scheduled for Sept. 25-27, may be the most important trip we have had in many years. It will be our last opportunity to collectively impress upon our delegation, prior to the lame-duck session, the need to unshackle banks from the regulatory burdens that prevent them from properly serving their customers and communities. If you have participated in the IBA Annual Washington Trip in the past, thank you, and I hope you will come again this year. If you have not yet participated, please give every consideration to joining us this year. The success of our business model may lie in our ability to communicate our concerns during this upcoming trip. I hope to see all of you many times between now and the end of September, but I especially hope to see you Sept. 2527 in Washington! FEATURE CEO Ponderings S. Joe DeHaven, Chief Executive Officer, Indiana Bankers Association The Indiana Bankers Association presented a PAC check to ICBPAC, the political action committee of the Independent Community Bankers of America, at the ICBA Washington Policy Summit on April 26. Shown at the check presentation are (left to right): S. Joe DeHaven, Indiana Bankers Association; Lucas White, The Fountain Trust Company, Covington; Amber R.VanTil, Indiana Bankers Association; David M. Geis, Jackson County Bank, Seymour; IBA Chairman Michael H. Head, First Federal Savings Bank, Evansville; Camden R. Fine, Independent Community Bankers of America; Joseph G. Pierce, Farmers State Bank, LaGrange; Ryan M.Warner, Bippus State Bank, Huntington; and Mark A. Schroeder, German American, Jasper. IBA Presents PAC Donation to ICBA The March edition of this column highlighted the important reasons to travel to Washington, DC, to call on our congressional delegation. This column also listed three annual opportunities for Indiana bankers to join the IBA Government Relations Team in going to our nation’s capital: the American Bankers Association Government Relations Summit, the Independent Community Bankers of America Washington Policy Summit, and the IBA Annual Washington Trip. The first two of these trips have taken place recently ‒ the ABA Government Relations Summit in March, and the ICBA Policy Summit in April. Following is an update on what our contingent of IBA bankers and staff heard from Indiana’s elected officials, as well as from regulators and bankers from other states. During the trips, we were joined by representatives of the ABA and ICBA, and we appreciate our valued national partners for hosting opportunities for Indiana bankers. With the backdrop of the presidential election, plus all of the other down-ticket elections looming during 2016, there seems to be a consensus that little will happen in Congress prior to the Nov. 8 general election. However, several congressmen expressed the opinion that there will be a lame-duck session following the election until the end of the year. “Lame duck” is the term most often used to describe a legislative body that is about to be unseated following an election, but remains in office until a future date, when the new legislative body will be sworn into office. Legally a lame-duck body has the power to act, but doing so is a delicate matter, since a new group has been elected. In the past several years, there have been several active lame-duck sessions following elections, most likely for the same reason we will probably have one this year: Important issues have been overshadowed by the election year, so quick action is required. Plus, anticipating that the new legislative body will require some time to get organized enough to address critical issues, the lame duck session can get down to business and deal with important matters. From the banking standpoint, we heard repeatedly during the DC trips in March and April that we can expect to see a banking legislative package, delivering some regulatory relief for community banks, presented for consideration. There also was general agreement that it would be a small package, likely to be rolled into a larger bill. There was also some optimism, depending on the election results, that a more comprehensive bank regulatory relief package could be moved in 2017. For the past couple of years, there has been universal support from the Indiana delegation for a significant
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