22 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2022 The Last Quarter Century IBA historical updates 1997-2022 Since the preceding Progress and Change cover story was published in 1997 in celebration of the Indiana Bankers Association’s 100-year anniversary, the IBA has continued to thrive in service to the Indiana banking community. Following is a review of some major developments affecting the Indiana banking community in the past quarter century. 1997-1999 With a catchphrase of “It’s the ’90s,” the final decade of the 20th century represented a gateway to the future, with computer-age advancements heralding increased productivity and employment. By the end of the decade, unemployment had dropped to 4% and the federal budget was experiencing a surplus. For the banking community, legislative benchmarks in the late ’90s included the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999. Passed with bipartisan support, GLB signaled confidence in the financial services industry by removing barriers between investment banks and commercial banks, in addition to providing for financial privacy safeguards. Around this time, Information Sharing and Analysis Centers were created to facilitate information-sharing on physical security and cybersecurity between the public sector and critical infrastructure industries. In 1999, the financial services ISAC was launched to collect and share information from all sources on cyber threats to banks. On the technology front, by the late ’90s many banks began to offer online bill pay services. Within five years, online bill pay would be available free of charge. Developments at the Indiana Bankers Association during this timeframe was the establishment of the IBA website. Its original URL was inbankers.org, later changed to indianabankers.org and then updated in 2020 to indiana.bank. As the decade of the 1990s closed out, a major concern among all businesses was computer readiness for the year 2000, commonly called Y2K. Industries scrambled to prepare their computers’ two-digit year The following material provided by the Hoosier Banker editorial team summarizes milestones in Indiana banking since the centennial edition of Hoosier Banker was published in 1997. coding to be able to distinguish, for example, between “1900” and “2000.” Fortunately, when systems worldwide finally clicked to Jan. 1, 2000, the transition proved to be nearly seamless. 2000-2009 The first decade of the new millennium brought sweeping changes to the Indiana banking community. On Jan. 1, 2000, the IBA merged with the Indiana League of Savings Institutions. Later, on Oct. 1, 2006, the IBA merged with the Community Bankers Association of Indiana. These mergers resulted in the creation of a single, strong entity to represent Indiana banks. Also in 2000, former IBA president and CEO William H. King retired, and James H. Cousins was named as his successor. Cousins had been in leadership with the Indiana League since 1993, prior to which he was a lobbyist in Washington D.C., a congressional staff member and a teacher of political science/economics. A graduate of the University of California-Los Angeles, Cousins was honored as a Distinguished Hoosier by former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and held honorary positions with the Indiana Financial Institutions Group Insurance Trust, the Indiana Legal Foundation, America’s Community Bankers and the State Association of Trade Executives. Under his leadership, the Five Star Member Bank Program was established in 2005 to recognize member banks that exemplify the spirit of IBA engagement. On a national scale, the beginning of the 21st century saw the horror of Sept. 11, 2001. On that fateful day, suicide attacks brought down the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, making the world forever aware of the potential for terrorism. As an offshoot of 9/11, the USA PATRIOT Act was passed, which enhanced Bank Secrecy Act reporting responsibilities and requirements for banks. The following year, Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, setting new standards and creating new oversight bodies for accounting at public companies, including banks. One year later, the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (“Check 21 Act”) of 2003 streamlined electronic check processing. COVER STORY James H. Cousins
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