Pub. 10 2021 Issue 1

Pub. 10 2021 Issue 1 9 before COVID-19. But the pandemic provided a push to bank customers who may not have fully embraced digital banking to do so in earnest. That will accelerate the digital transition even further, and will surely lead to efficiencies for banks down the road. The robust digital banking landscape also bodes well for financial inclusion — the ability to remotely access banking services will enable a broader set of customers to take advantage of the full panoply of financial tools and resources at their fingertips. The relationships with our state associations are critical. From the earliest days of the pandemic, state associations played an instrumental role in analyzing and disseminating information that bankers needed to make PPP loans, facilitate economic impact payments and continue operating amid constantly changing health and safety guidelines. With the help of our State Association Alliance partners, we delivered free resources to ABA members and nonmembers alike—including 33 free webinars, operational aids, crisis communications toolkits, scientific analyses and more— recognizing the importance of helping all banks weather the crisis. Through weekly calls—and sometimes daily calls—there was a continuous flow of information and feedback between ABA in Washington and all 50 states. This collaboration was vital as policymakers worked to calibrate and re-calibrate rules and regulations implementing the first CARES Act. I have no doubt that this engagement will continue now that a second stimulus has been passed and a third package could soon follow. These are just a few takeaways from this historic period. In the years ahead, I’m sure there will be even more robust lookbacks and more lessons that can be extrapolated from the coronavirus crisis. And the result of all of that learning, I hope, will only serve to make us stronger, safer and even more prepared for the future. Email Rob Nichols at nichols@aba.com .