PRESIDENT’S COLUMN Taking a Look Back at 2014... Our persistent advocacy, along with our close alliance with the American Bankers Association and the 52 other state associations, produced some tangible successes with our regulators and with Congress last year. With your efforts and assistance we were able to help our banks compete more effectively and to save money. Reg Relief was, and is, an everyday topic of conversation with both regulators and legislators. In the very last days of the 113th Congress, HR3329 was passed. This bill will help hundreds of our hometown banks by increasing the Fed’s “small bank holding company” threshold from $500 million to $1 billion. Also in that last-minute push the spending bill had a provision that will allow banks to conduct more swaps in the bank, rather than through an affiliate, enabling banks to offer family farmers a one-stop banking experience. Earlier in the year, our hard work was rewarded when the regulators finalized the risk retention rules. This rule aligned the QRM standard with
CFPB’s QM standard, removing the 20 percent down payment requirement. There were other mortgage rule improvements that eased our liability risks and regulatory burdens, including rules on QM thresholds, a cure period for certain errors and the creation of a smallservicer QM exemption. Let’s not forget early last year when the AmBA sued the federal banking regulators on the Volker Rule’s treatment of CDO backed by community banks’ trust preferred securities. It produced a change to the rule that saved banks millions in write-downs.
PRESIDENT & CEO BILL HOLMES
Looking forward, there are several measures to further reduce the Reg burden positioned for action in the upcoming 114th Congress. The House has passed bills to eliminate annual privacy notices for institutions that haven’t changed privacy practices, clarifies the CFPB’s points-and-fees test, exempts CLOs from the Volker Rule and one to provide a process to appeal the CFPB’s rural or underserved designation. Two other bills cleared a House committee: one
ABA STAFF BILL HOLMES
President/CEO 501.978.3602 | bill.holmes@arkbankers.org
CARLA BRINKLEY
VP/Controller 501.978.3608 | carla.brinkley@arkbankers.org
AVA FRANKS
VP/Director of Government Relations 501.978.3606 | ava.franks@arkbankers.org
JESSICA SAHENE
Marketing Coordinator 501.978.3609 | jessica.sahene@arkbankers.org
STUART THALHEIMER
Executive Assistant 501.978.3605 | stuart.thalheimer@arkbankers.org
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The TheArkansas ArkansasBanker Banker || January January2015 2015
AARON GAMEWELL
EVP/COO 501.978.3613 | aaron.gamewell@arkbankers.org
KAMI TAYLOR COLEMAN
VP/Professional Development 501.978.3614 | kami.coleman@arkbankers.org
TRACI LOGSDON
Director of Communications 501.978.3603 | traci.logsdon@arkbankers.org
TERRI KELLY
Professional Development Coordinator 501.978.3607 | terri.kelly@arkbankers.org
BRENDA SCARBROUGH
Administrative Assistant 501.978.3600 | brenda.scarbrough@arkbankers.org
