6 THE ARIZONA BANKER Banks Are Under Attack Advocacy and Education are More Important Than Ever By: Steven Killian, Arizona Bankers Association & Jay Kaprosy, Veridus he quickly changing political landscape has brought about great new risks to employers and the banking industry. Both political parties are pushing back against corporate entities, advancing legislation, and policy based on the day’s latest angry tweet storm or outlandish conspiracy theories. Bearing that in mind, it is critical that the banking industry doubles down on its efforts to be a leading advocate and proactive educator in this current political climate. Thankfully, the Arizona Bankers Association has a long history of serving as the chief advocate for Arizona’s banking industry. In fact, the first priority in the Association’s mission is to provide “premier government relations advocacy,” and we have been very successful. In recent years, we have advanced legislation to reform the state’s pooled collateral system, to address foreign money judgments, and to authorize the use of account registry services and many other banking priorities. We have also pushed back, and won, against many of the most egregious efforts to regulate who banks can and can’t do business with or to legislate new costly mandates. In other instances, the Association engages on behalf of the banking community by filing legal briefs in the many pending cases that would otherwise dramatically shift longstanding business practices or established understandings of the law. A key part of a meaningful advocacy effort is to be an educator, as proactively as possible. It is a daunting task to try to overcome and get in front of the misinformation that seems so prevalent today. In this new climate, much of the political debate happens in echo chambers of tweets, soundbites, and misinformation. The very basics of the essential role of banks in America’s free enterprise system seems to have gotten lost. Legislators’ lack of understanding of the risk management and fiduciary responsibilities that banks hold makes it very difficult for them to effectively evaluate and make an educated vote on the bills that come across their desks. Through direct feedback from you, the Association’s members, and our partnership with the American Bankers Association, we have equipped ourselves to capably educate policymakers both before and during the legislative process. We already knew many of the risks that the banking industry would face when the Arizona Legislature resumed in January. Our opponents spent the - - - UNDER THE COPPER DOME - - -
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODQxMjUw