SDBA's First Women in Banking Conference a Huge Success

photo of conference attendees The SDBA's Lead Strong: Women in Banking Conference held Tuesday in Sioux Falls was a huge success with more than 230 women from across the state in attendance.

"Thank you for such an AMAZING event," commented Angela McCoy, American Bank & Trust, Sioux Falls. "Each speaker was so inspiring! One of the best conferences I have attended!"

"This was the most start-to-finish captivating conference I have been to in years," said Joan Larson with Richland Loan Processing Center in Sioux Falls.

A huge shout out to all the attendees who brought professional attire to donate to Dress for Success Sioux Falls. The SDBA delivered three van loads of donations to Dress for Success. Thank you to our bankers for your generosity and lending a hand to support other women so they can land jobs that could change their lives. See donation photos.

More photos from the conference will appear in the November SDBanker Magazine. Also, be watching for the dates of next year's Women in Banking Conference.

Huron Police Again Warn of Fake Money

The Huron Police Department yesterday posted pictures on Facebook alerting area residents and businesses about fake money. On Tuesday, an employee at a local business in Huron caught someone trying to pass a fake $50. Both the front and back of the bill had pink Chinese lettering printed on it. See the fake bill.

Police say if you encounter a bill like this or any possible counterfeit money, contact authorities immediately. Huron Police warned people to be extra careful when taking any type of currency.

This summer, Huron police discovered fake $100 bills. This latest event is different in that it was a $50 bill.

FDIC to Post Key Performance Metrics on Website

Under a major new transparency initiative, the FDIC is publishing key performance metrics on its website, agency chairman Jelena McWilliams said last night. These metrics include application approvals, denials and withdrawals (including for de novo banks); time to process applications and exam reports; responses to consumer calls and emails; deposit insurance assessments and appeals; Freedom of Information Act requests; and failed bank resolution statistics.

The metrics are published on the FDIC homepage. They showed that in the first half of 2018, the FDIC approved 86 percent of substantially complete applications within the agency's own target timeframes. Meanwhile, the average time for a bank to receive a favorable safety and soundness exam report was 24 days. Unfavorable reports took on average 34.5 days. Speaking at a community banking research conference in St. Louis, McWilliams emphasized the importance of transparency in building trust with the banks the FDIC regulates. "The trust between bank and examiner is unlikely to survive a process that is opaque, poorly communicated, and riddled with inconsistencies," she said.

McWilliams said the FDIC will add to its transparency section over time and that the agency is reviewing what information it will deem confidential. On Monday, the agency issued a request for information seeking feedback on the agency's communications and transparency efforts. McWilliams also said she intends to visit with banks and other FDIC stakeholders in every state, "revers[ing] the long-standing trend of having those affected by our regulations come to Washington to be heard. It is long overdue that we come to them instead." Read more and view FDIC performance metrics.

Proposals on Community Bank Capital, Large Bank Supervision Expected by Year-End

Financial regulators will issue by year-end their proposal exempting highly capitalized community banks from the Basel III capital calculations, as directed by S. 2155, FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams told members of the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday. Under the law, community banks with under $10 billion in assets that exceed a yet-to-be-determined capital ratio between 8 and 10 percent will be considered in compliance with all other capital and leverage requirements.

McWilliams said that the agencies are approaching the community bank capital regime from “a simple perspective,” noting that “we have made things too complicated” and that community banks “should not be subject to Basel III requirements.” She added that the system regulators put in place going forward should be commensurate with the risk profile of small community banks.

Turning to supervision for larger institutions, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles affirmed that the Fed’s “highest priority” continues to be establishing a framework for applying enhanced prudential standards for banks holding $100-250 billion in assets. Quarles said he expects the Fed to issue its rulemaking “very soon” and “certainly before the end of the year.” He added that as the Fed continues to consider the full set of rules that apply to the nation’s largest banks--including the capital framework, liquidity rules and stress testing requirements--consideration of the global systemically important bank surcharge would “inevitably” be a part of that discussion.

FDIC Report: Banks' Small Biz Lending Significantly Underestimated

Banks lend significantly more to small businesses than is captured by commonly used proxies, according to a major FDIC study released on Monday. In 2015, the agency found, small business commercial and industrial lending by banks was understated by 12 percent, or $37 billion--while small business C&I loans by small banks (which it defined as banks with less than $10 billion in assets) were understated by 29 percent. Community banks were especially important in small business lending, holding 42 percent of small business loans but just 13 percent of all industry assets.

Drawing on survey responses from about 1,200 banks, the report dug beyond the measure of C&I loans of $1 million or less that is often used as a proxy for small business loans. It found that a substantial share of C&I loans over this threshold go to businesses generally understood to be small and that the measure does not capture business loans secured by residential real estate.

The survey also examined bankers’ views about their competitors. Most banks identified other banks in their local markets as frequent competitors, and more than half said that a credit union fit that label. Nearly half of large banks identified nonbank fintech firms as a frequent competitor, while less than 10 percent of small banks did. However, when asked to identify their single top competitor, nearly all named a fellow bank.

Large banks were more likely to accept business loan applications via phone, on-site visits or online than smaller banks. Smaller banks emphasized ability to talk to someone, customer referrals and community involvement as among their top sources of new loan relationships, while large banks focused on professional referrals, extensive branch networks and marketing initiatives to existing customers. Read the study.

Bonus Podcast: Understanding the CRA Modernization Process

On a bonus episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, ABA VP Krista Shonk outlines the process for modernizing Community Reinvestment Act regulations and how bankers can get involved. Shonk provides a detailed analysis of what’s in the OCC’s August advance notice of proposed rulemaking, including questions about ways the banking agencies can encourage more lending in areas that need it, clarify the types of activities that receive positive CRA consideration, update the assessment area concept and measure bank performance with a metric-based approach.

Shonk also explains that the OCC will share public comments on the ANPR with the other banking agencies, informing the interagency process of modernizing CRA rules. For that reason, she encourages all banks--regardless of whether the OCC supervises them--to send a comment letter by Nov. 19. Shonk provides tips on writing a comment letter and describes ABA’s resources to help banks understand the process. Listen to this episode. Do you use podcast apps to listen? You can find the ABA Banking Journal Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Pocket Casts, Stitcher and Spotify, as well as in the Daily Newsbytes email every Thursday.

SDBA to Hold IRA Update Seminar

The SDBA’s IRA Update Seminar on Oct. 18 in Sioux Falls will build on attendees’ knowledge of IRA basics to address some of the more complex IRA issues their financial organizations may handle. This course will also include all changes that have occurred and discuss any pending legislation.

This is a specialty session; previous IRA knowledge is assumed. The instructor uses real-world exercises to help participants apply information to job-related situations.

The instructor, Michael O’Brien, has been a key player in the retirement services industry for more than 30 years. He has served as senior vice president of Integrated Retirement, vice president of retirement products and solutions at Ascensus, and senior consultant with Universal Pensions, Inc. O’Brien has provided consulting and educational services to all facets of the retirement industry.

Learn more and register.

Abbie Ranschau Wins SDBA Communications Survey Giveaway

Abbie Ranschau, a trust and wealth advisor with Dacotah Bank in Sioux Falls, was the winner of the SDBA's communications survey giveaway of a $100 Visa gift card.

The SDBA last month conducted a survey of its members to learn their thoughts on the SDBanker Magazine and member communications. The SDBA wanted to know what readers like and dislike about the monthly magazine, in what format they read the magazine, how often they would like to receive the magazine, and how they prefer to get their information from the Association.

Thank you to everyone that completed the survey. The SDBA will be reviewing the comments and suggestions and discussing potential changes to the magazine and member communications.

Compliance rules and regulations change quickly. For timely compliance updates, subscribe to Compliance Alliance’s email newsletters.

Compliance Alliance offers a comprehensive suite of compliance management solutions. To learn how to put them to work for your bank, call 888.353.3933 or email.

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