Tanya is a partner of the commercial services practice of Baker Tilly. She is a widely experienced tax professional in corporate, individual and flow-through taxation. She is also experienced in acquisition and merger diligence, accounting and tax planning. Tanya is an industry expert in financial services. Pub. 13 2022 I Issue 4 Winter 21 West Virginia Banker The Digital Asset Era Numerous conference sessions were designed to educate bank leaders on blockchain, encryption, digital assets – including cryptocurrency – and custodial market opportunities. Attendees were informed about the potential for a federal government digital asset – a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Vendors with platforms that tie to a bank’s main customer reporting systems and dashboards to allow customers to view and get funds back and forth to an existing trading platform were prevalent at the conference. Banks discussed the risks of adopting or avoiding these new platforms, including customer satisfaction, deposit run-off and regulatory risk. On September 30, the ABA submitted public comments to the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision concerning prudent treatment of banks’ digital asset exposure. They listed three key principles that should guide supervisory and regulatory approaches to digital assets: 1. the need to develop a broad understanding of key features in many digital assets; 2. a willingness by regulatory and supervisory authorities to permit prudent innovation; and 3. the benefits of conducting a significant share of the digital asset market through supervised financial institutions. Other Insights During the conference, FDIC Acting Chairman Martin Gruenberg spoke on the effects that more and more expansive storm damage will have on the credit market, banks, and lenders. The risks include a smaller insurance reimbursement market and potentially more loan default. He asked banks to consider climate-related financial risk policies – especially those banks with concentrated geographical risk. He did not expect the Fed’s direction to affect bank capital. Several financial institutions have joined the ABA’s effort to stop bank scams and phishing. The main focus of the ABA platform – banksneveraskthat.com – is to educate people on how to avoid losing money to scammers imitating banks. The website covers important information about scam safety and phishing and includes several videos – and even a game – providing helpful tips and information. Daniel D. Robb, President and CEO of Jonesburg State Bank in Jonesburg, Missouri, was introduced as the new Chair of the ABA. The ABA’s choice of a new leader from a small family-owned financial institution (less than $250M in assets ) shows the ABA’s re-focus on the community aspects of local banking. Other officer appointments included Chair-Elect Julieann M. Thurlow of Reading Cooperative Bank (Reading, MA), Vice Chair John C. Asbury, CEO of Atlantic Union Bancshares Corp. (Richmond, VA), and Treasurer Carissa Rodeheaver, Chairman President and CEO of First United Bank & Trust (Oakland, MD).
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