PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Lorrie Trogden
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“You are so much sunshine in every square inch.” - Walt Whitman
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SUMMER 2021
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President & CEO
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Arkansas Bankers Association
ummer is upon us, and much like you do for your customers and communities, it carries the promise of brightening our days with lots of sunshine.
The PPP program has closed and as of May 31, 2021, Arkansas financial institutions made 61,701 loans for a total of $1,745,660,603. Just think of how many Arkansas jobs and small businesses that were saved with this lifeline – you brought the sunshine and should be incredibly proud of yourselves! The sunshine did not stop there, your efforts with Operation Vax Speed resulted in getting thousands of vaccine shots into the arms of Arkansans. I continue to be incredibly proud and thankful for the sunshine the banking industry brings to our state and local communities. There is a lot going on in banking and with the Association right now. Should you want to know more about any of these items - attend upcoming education, call me, text me, invite me to visit your bank, or grab me at an upcoming conference, and let’s chat! State – The state legislature is now in an extended recess and will reconvene sometime around September to finish the task of redistricting. They should not be discussing any substantive legislation during that time. In total, over 1,700 bills were filed between January and April, resulting in over 1,000 new Acts. Be on the lookout, ABA is already scheduling education on new state laws that are pertinent to you. In this issue you will find an article about our Cross-Collateralization bill and an article about a law the ABA assisted in drafting and passing that helps banks fight financial elder abuse. Federal - President Biden now has over 100 days under his belt and the administration is in full swing with executive orders and bills that will have significant impacts on financial institutions. Two issues that are on the hot burner right now are postal banking and IRS reporting. President Biden’s budget bill contains language allowing for a limited number of post offices to offer banking services, such as cashing checks, ATMs, checking accounts and loans. Congressman Womack is on the House Committee on Appropriations. ABA approached him for help on this issue and his office is drafting language that would impose a ban on banking within the postal system. President Biden’s tax bill contains language that would require banks to report on inflow/outflow of all business and personal accounts at financial institutions, including deposit accounts, loans and investment accounts. A $600 de minimis gross inflow threshold would apply to reporting, and Treasury would have broad authority to issue regulations for the proposed requirements, which if enacted would take effect starting after the 2022 tax year. We have spoken with our delegation, and will continue to do so, about our concerns with both bills. As I am writing this column, I have a U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing about digital currency playing in the background. In his opening statement, Senator Toomey was quick to ask, “What problem is digital currency trying to solve?” then he answered that he did not see any. This was followed up with Senator Kennedy asking, “Is the juice worth the squeeze?” This is a conversation we will follow closely as discussions continue with Congress and the Federal Reserve.
