In This Issue

• ABA-Supported Bills Clear House Committee
• ABA to Bankers: Call Your Senators Today on Reg Relief
• First State Bank, Langford, Competes for $15,000 FHLB Award
• Cordray Signals 'Hold Harmless' Period for TRID Compliance
• ABA Issues Additional Resources on EMV Card Transition
• Ag Bankers Pre-Conference Focuses on Commodity Prices

ABA-Supported Bills Clear House Committee

The House Financial Services Committee yesterday passed three ABA-supported bills addressing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and proposed limitations on retirement advice. “The legislative proposals before the committee seek to provide the proper balance of protections to help the financial industry serve our customers,” ABA said in a memo to the committee on Tuesday.

H.R. 1090, which would delay the Labor Department's controversial rule redefining who counts as a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act until after the SEC takes similar action, passed by 34 to 22. H.R. 1266, which would replace the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's sole director with a bipartisan, five-member commission, passed by 35 to 24, while a measure to create an independent, Senate-confirmed inspector general for the CFPB (H.R. 957) passed by 56 to 3. Read ABA’s memo.

ABA to Bankers: Call Your Senators Today on Reg Relief

ABA is urging all bankers to contact their senators today to ask them to support S. 1484, the ABA-backed Financial Regulatory Improvement Act introduced the Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). The bill has passed the Senate Banking Committee, but it needs additional support to come to the Senate floor as a standalone measure or attached to different legislation.

“This is the first in a series of actions ABA will be asking bankers to take on this legislation,” said ABA EVP James Ballentine. “If the industry is going to get real regulatory relief this year, every banker will have to be involved.”

All bank employees are encouraged to participate. ABA has provided a customizable sample script to use in conversations with Senate offices, as well as a link to the Senate’s phone directory. View the sample script.  Access the Senate directory.

First State Bank, Langford, Competes for $15,000 FHLB Award

First State Bank in Langford, S.D., is one of seven finalists for Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines' Strong Communities Award.

The award honors the projects, the people and the programs that promote small business growth and retention in our communities and also highlights the great work that our member financial institutions are doing every day to help their communities thrive. First State Bank, Langford, constructed a new Main Street Center that promoted and housed new businesses and a community gathering space in the town of 318 residents.

A public vote will be held Oct. 5-16 on the Strengthening Communities Together website. The public vote will serve as a component of the selection process, and one winner in each category will be recognized during a community celebration and receive a $15,000 award to promote small business and economic development in their communities. The top finalist in each category will receive a $3,000 stipend.

The 2015 Strong Communities Award attracted a strong and diverse pool of applications. Applications varied between urban and rural communities; geographic location and project type; however, they all had one thing in common – strong support from a local FHLB Des Moines member financial institution. Read more about the finalists.

Cordray Signals 'Hold-Harmless' Period for TRID Compliance

 
Testifying before the House Financial Services Committee Tuesday, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray signaled that the bureau and other financial regulators are working on guidance for a formal ‘hold-harmless’ period to facilitate compliance after the TILA-RESPA integrated disclosures take effect on Saturday.

“I'm pushing hard for it to happen before Oct. 3,” Cordray said in response to questions from Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), a sponsor of ABA-backed legislation to provide a grace period for TRID compliance. “I’d hoped that it would happen before today. It is going to happen.”

Cordray added that “there will be time for [financial institutions] to work to get it right and not have to be perfect on the first day,” adding that the regulators’ approach to TRID in the early months “will be diagnostic, not punitive.” ABA has strongly advocated for clear, written guidance from the regulators on how they will examine and enforce TRID compliance.

In related news, ABA on Tuesday sent a memo to all member bank CEOs to provide an update on TRID implementation and options bankers may be considering. The memo addresses the late software deliveries being reported across the industry, leaving little to no time for testing and training and the regulatory and legal environment around TRID implementation.

“Bank management should carefully consider compliance, operational, buy back and other risks, and should take into account the unique circumstances that apply to their institution,” ABA said. “To understand how the TRID transition continues to unfold, it will be very important that banks closely monitor TRID-related activities, including legal, legislative, regulatory and investor developments, as well as supplemental ABA reports and analysis.” Read the memo. For more information, contact ABA’s Bob Davis.

ABA Issues Additional Resources on EMV Card Transition

As part of its continuing effort to help banks communicate with customers and media outlets about the Oct. 1 EMV liability shift and the ongoing movement to chip cards, ABA has released a members-only backgrounder on chip cards. The backgrounder includes talking points and a summary of what the change means for consumers, how banks protect customer data and how to describe the EMV transition.

In addition to the backgrounder, ABA has supplied a customizable news release and an infographic that banks are freely invited to reproduce and share with their customers.

• View the backgrounder. (members only)
• View the infographic.
• View the customizable release. (members only)
• View an FAQ from GoChipCard.com

Ag Bankers Pre-Conference Focuses on Commodity Prices

Attendees at ABA’s National Agricultural Bankers Conference -- Oct. 25-28 in Kansas City, Mo. -- will have an option to attend a pre-conference seminar on the “commodity price roller coaster.” Virginia Tech ag economist David Kohl will lead a discussion on how to evaluate the effects of commodity price swings on customers and manage risk.

General session speakers will also include ag economists Barry Flinchbaugh and Michael Swanson; Monsanto’s John Chambers; generational differences expert Sarah Gibson; and Kansas City Royals baseball legend George Brett.

Breakout workshops at the conference will cover farm succession planning, helping customers through volatility, engaging with lawmakers, financing multiple entity businesses, managing water conflicts, competing for ag loans, handling new financial standards and other topics. For ag bankers new to the field, a special track will cover lessons from the 1980s, documentation requirements, the basics of ag credit analysis and how to handle troubled loans. Register now.