Dacotah Bank, Faulkton, Finalist in FHLB Des Moines' Strong Communities Award
Dacotah Bank in Faulkton is one of six finalists in Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines' first-ever Strong Communities Award. One winner, as voted upon by members and community partners, will be recognized during a community celebration and receive a $15,000 stipend. The remaining finalists will receive a $2,500 stipend.
One winner, as voted upon by members and community partners, will be recognized during a community celebration and receive a $15,000 stipend. The remaining finalists will receive a $2,500 stipend. - See more at: http://fhlbforcommunity.com/news-events/news/six-communities-compete-15000-strong-communities-award#sthash.3LDl0gsS.dpuf
The award honors the projects, the people and the programs that promote small business growth and retention in the community and also highlights the great work that member financial institutions are doing every day to help their communities thrive. Dacotah Bank in Faulkton developed a strip mall that created retail opportunities and jobs, while increasing traffic through the community of 735 residents.
while increasing traffic through the community of 735 residents. - See more at: http://fhlbforcommunity.com/news-events/news/six-communities-compete-15000-strong-communities-award#sthash.tNB4RlwU.dpuf
The 2014 Strong Communities Award attracted a strong and diverse pool of applications. Applications varied between urban and rural communities; geographic location (Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota); and project type; however, they all had one thing in common – strong support from a local FHLB Des Moines member financial institution.
Voting is now open through Aug. 1. Learn more. Vote online.
Plan to Attend SDBA 2014 School of Compliance
Compliance is one of the most crucial and consuming issues in the financial industry today. The regulatory agencies are making it clear through their examinations of banks that no institution can afford to be without a comprehensive, well-managed compliance program. Your compliance officer must be able to run the process, including a bank-wide training program, like a well-oiled machine.
As a major resource for banking education, the SDBA provides this year’s School of Compliance on Sept. 29–Oct. 2, 2014, at the Clubhouse Hotel & Suites in Sioux Falls. It ensures that financial institutions have the latest knowledge and preparation they need to properly handle compliance issues.
Constant changes and the highly-charged regulatory environment make this information more important than ever to your financial institution. You will have the opportunity to interact with nationally-known compliance experts and with others involved in compliance from institutions similar in size to your own.
Learn more and register.
Plagge Speaks at White House about Rural Investment
Banks help drive the rural economy, ABA Chairman Jeff Plagge said yesterday at a White House conference on investment opportunities in rural America. Plagge, who is president and CEO of Northwest Financial Corp., Arnolds Park, Iowa, emphasized banks’ role in raising capital for infrastructure, schools, roads and industrial parks, in particular by purchasing debt issued by small communities.
“Bankers are part of the intellectual capital of rural communities, part of the leadership in every community we serve -- the feet on the ground, so to speak,” Plagge said. “It is critical that all federal or state policymakers acknowledge that and engage those bankers with any existing and new programs affecting rural America.”
Plagge was joined on the program by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Jason Furman and National Economic Council Director Jeff Zients. The White House event yesterday will be followed by a public conference today.
Keating Assesses Dodd-Frank on Anniversary
In connection with the fourth anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Act on Monday, ABA President and CEO Frank Keating made several media appearances. The bill is a mixed bag, he noted on Bloomberg’s “Bottom Line” program.
“There are some good things in the law,” he noted -- for example, “it says that no institution is too big to fail” and provides “a mechanism to ensure that’s the case.” It also furnishes a mechanism for regulation of systemically significant nonbanks, he pointed out.
However, Keating added, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau needs more oversight, and mortgage rules based on Dodd-Frank are hindering the housing market. “I hope both Republicans and Democrats go back to the drawing board and amend those things that harm us as an economy and leave in those things that save us from reckless lending and the collapse of a big institution.”
Keating also appeared on Fox Business and Bloomberg Radio. Watch the Bloomberg interview.
House GOP, Democrats Evaluate Dodd-Frank on Anniversary
Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee on Monday released a report finding that the regulatory structure created by the Dodd-Frank Act does not sufficiently address the problem of too-big-to-fail financial institutions. The report argued that the orderly liquidation authority created by Title II of Dodd-Frank is untested and continues to leave taxpayers exposed to the costs of winding down a failing firm.
Meanwhile, Financial Services Committee Democrats released their own report defending Dodd-Frank’s track record, arguing that the bill reduced the risk of bailouts by providing regulators with tools to address systemic threats.
While ABA has opposed several major Dodd-Frank provisions and its overall regulatory burden, ABA and its member banks of all sizes share the law’s goal of ending too big to fail. They support policies that ensure taxpayers do not shoulder the burden when a large financial firm must be wound down. ABA has called for regulators to implement provisions targeting TBTF effectively and fine-tune those provisions as needed. Read the Republicans’ report. Read the Democrats’ report.
Members of Congress Question Higher Ed Rulemaking
A bipartisan group of lawmakers -- led by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.) and Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) -- last week questioned the Department of Education’s rulemaking on the disbursement of student loan funds, arguing that the proposal extends too far in terms of the kinds of accounts it covers.
“This proposal could cover any account held by a student or parent if the financial institution had any arrangement, however informal, with a school and regardless of when or why the student or parent opened the account with that financial institution,” the legislators said. They noted that campus banking offers students “convenient access to safe, low-cost financial services” and that an “overly broad rule” could reduce students access to these products.
ABA has argued that the department’s rulemaking goes beyond student aid disbursement to regulate the terms and availability of deposit accounts -- including debit cards and prepaid cards -- that at best a tangential relationship with disbursing student aid. Read the congressional letter.
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