PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Lorrie Trogden
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President & CEO
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Arkansas Bankers Association
he new year has begun, and we are moving full steam ahead here at the ABA!
ADVOCACY: We had 11 bankers on the Hill for our March trip to D.C., and they represented our industry very well. We had impactful visits with all our federal delegation. Topics covered included: 1. Cannabis Banking - Closer to passage than ever before and we are hopeful to get it through the Senate by the end of 2022. Thank you to Senator Boozman and Congressmen Crawford, Hill, and Womack for their support. 2. Central Bank Digital Currency – This is a very nuanced topic and there are bankers on both sides of the issue, however, I believe we can all agree that the Federal Reserve does not need to hold individual customer deposits via the form of digital currency (or any other for that matter). The Fed has promised not to move forward “without clear support from the executive branch and from Congress, ideally in the form of a specific authorizing law.” 3. CFPB Supervision of Nonbank Small Business Lenders – Currently the CFPB has supervisory authority over banks as it relates to information about lending to “women owned, minority-owned and small businesses,” but not over nonbank lenders. (1071) We are requesting Congress amend the CFPA to give the CFPB supervision authority over nonbank lenders.
“Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365-page book.” - Brad Paisley
4. Community Bank Leverage Ratio – Since the onset of the pandemic, many community banks have experienced significant unexpected balance-sheet growth, and as a result have experienced deterioration in leverage ratios. Congress should give regulators flexibility to adjust the leverage ratio floor and we are specifically asking that the temporary 8% pandemic related ratio, which is now expired, be reinstated. 5. Enhancing Credit Opportunities in Rural America – This is a level playing field issue with Farm Credit. This bill removes the taxation on income from farm real estate loans and rural home mortgage loans in rural areas and towns of less than 2,500 for FDIC insured institutions. This bill will most likely start seeing significant movement in 2023. Special thanks to Senators Boozman and Cotton and Congressmen Westerman and Womack for co-sponsoring this bill. In addition, we are seeing some of the national policy issues such as fair access and ESG starting to creep into the state legislation. The 2022 fiscal session is now over, but work on bills for the 2023 substantive session is already starting. It’s very important that candidates who understand banking and are supportive of our industry are elected.
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SPRING 2022
