SDBA eNews: April 6, 2017

In This Issue

SBA Rapid City Office to Hold Ribbon Cutting on Monday

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony joined by U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds and the Rapid City Chamber of Commerce on Monday, April 10.

“I’m delighted to celebrate the reactivation of SBA’s Rapid City Office with such distinguished guests from the community," said SBA District Director John L. Brown II.

The ceremony will be held at 1:30 p.m. MDT at the Federal Building, 515 Ninth St., Room B10.


'Can You Hear Me?' Scam Hooks Victims With a Single Word


The FCC is warning that a scam focuses on tricking people into saying the word "yes" on the phone, which fraudsters record and later reuse as a voice signature in an attempt to make fraudulent charges on utility or credit card accounts.

"The scam begins when a consumer answers a call and the person at the end of the line asks, 'Can you hear me?' The caller then records the consumer's 'yes' response and thus obtains a voice signature," the FCC warns. "This signature can later be used by the scammers to pretend to be the consumer and authorize fraudulent charges via telephone."

Read the full story by Bank Info Security.


 

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SDBA To Appoint 2017-2018 Committee Members


The SDBA is seeking bankers to serve on its committees for the upcoming year. SDBA committees are: Agricultural Credit Committee, Credit Card Committee, Legislative Committee and Trust Committee. Committee terms are one year beginning May 1, 2017, and ending April 30, 2018, with the exception of Legislative Committee members who serve three-year terms.

As a volunteer for your Association, you will be contributing to a stronger banking industry, and the SDBA is confident that you will enjoy a personal sense of accomplishment as well. We respect the time commitment that each committee member has made and work hard to ensure the meetings are well run and productive. Committees meet once or twice
a year to initiate activities and recommend policy.  

We are fortunate that so many bankers are willing to share their talents with the SDBA and encourage you to complete the committee request form by May 1 if you are interested in serving on a committee. Questions, contact the SDBA Office at 605.224.1653 and ask to speak to Curt Everson or
Halley Lee.


ABA Testifies on 2018 Farm Bill, Credit Issues Faced by Rural Bankers


The ABA testified on Tuesday before the House of Representatives Agriculture Committee’s Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit Subcommittee, offering the banking industry’s perspective on credit issues in the upcoming Farm Bill and the importance of credit for rural communities.

Nathan Franzen, president of agri-business at First Dakota National Bank in Yankton, testified on behalf of ABA. In his testimony, Franzen emphasized the critical role banks play in the agricultural economy as a primary source of credit to the nation’s farmers and ranchers.

“Banks continue to be one of the first places that farmers and ranchers turn when looking for agricultural loans,” Franzen said. “To bankers, agricultural lending is good business, and we make credit available to all who can demonstrate they have a sound business plan and the ability to repay.”

Franzen also discussed the successes of the 2014 Farm Bill, including its protection of crop insurance, the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and the removal of term limits on FSA Guaranteed Loan Programs. However, he expressed concerns about the changing agricultural landscape and identified several essential reforms for inclusion in the upcoming Farm Bill to help the industry overcome the challenges ahead.

“The most important change that should be made to the next Farm Bill is an increase to the current loan limit on FSA Guaranteed Loans,” Franzen said, referring to the current $1.399 million limit. “The formula for indexing the programs has not kept up with the increasing costs of agriculture. It is much more costly for a young, beginning or small farmer to get into agriculture, and the guaranteed loan programs need to reflect that reality.”

Franzen suggested the bill help modernize the loan programs by upgrading and improving technology, as well as addressing the rapid retirement rates of FSA staff. He also advocated that the Farm Bill serve as a vehicle to improve Farmer Mac--an important partner for the banking industry.  

“Farmer Mac is a valuable tool in the toolbox for agricultural bankers because it provides another avenue for banks to increase credit availability,” said Franzen. “With the agricultural economy potentially going through some stressful times in the near future, Farmer Mac will need legislative changes. ABA believes the most needed change is the removal of the current 1,000 acre limitation.”

Click here for a copy of Franzen’s full testimony.


ABA, ICBA Call on Trump to Revitalize Rural America


In a letter to President Trump on Monday, ABA and the Independent Community Bankers of America urged the president to make the revitalization of rural America a priority for any new national infrastructure program. The letter stressed the need for improved transportation systems, communications networks and other infrastructure to ensure the industry’s continued vitality, noting that the sector employs over 17 million people and exports billions of dollars’ worth of agricultural products each year.

The associations outlined three fundamental principles that should drive any major infrastructure legislation, noting that any such bill should “significantly benefit rural America to ensure ability of our farmers and ranchers to continue...feeding and clothing the world” and refrain from granting broad new lending authorities to the Farm Credit System or other government-sponsored enterprise. It should also not assess any new tax on the commercial banking industry to pay for infrastructure development, the groups added.

The groups also urged the president to encourage partnerships with the private sector--including America’s banks--to increase the building and development of rural infrastructure. “With the ability to develop creative, novel ideas and adjust to a rapidly changing world, the private sector and the commercial banks that serve this sector can offer the most economical and efficient solutions to the challenges facing our infrastructure development needs while minimizing taxpayer dollars.”


ABA Community Bankers Meet with Mnuchin, Top Treasury Leaders


Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and his leadership team yesterday hosted a group of community bankers to discuss unnecessary and outdated regulations that are hindering economic growth and making it more difficult for banks to serve their customers and communities. The 16 bankers participating represented both ABA and the Independent Community Bankers of America. They discussed the importance of the community bank business model, ensuring regulation is tailored to institutions’ unique characteristics, mortgage finance reform and the ability of community banks to raise capital, among other topics.

“Highly prescriptive and ill-tailored rules are making it much harder for community banks to make loans to creditworthy borrowers and otherwise serve their clients and communities,” said ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols, who participated in the meeting. “We thank Treasury for listening to a wide variety of perspectives as they conduct a careful review of the broad range of financial laws and regulations--an examination that we hope will allow banks to go even further in driving our economy forward.”

This meeting comes less than a month after several community bank leaders met with President Trump at the White House. Trump made clear during that meeting that the vitality of community banking is a top priority for his administration. Read more.


ABA, State Associations Continue Focus on ADA Website Issues


Over the last month, ABA has been working with state bankers associations to inform members of Congress about the demand letters that plaintiffs’ firms have sent to banks asserting that the bank’s website is not accessible to speech and hearing impaired customers as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. In particular, state associations in Iowa, Louisiana, North Carolina, Utah and Virginia have sent letters to key members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.

Under the former administration, the Department of Justice took the position that the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to websites but has delayed initiating a formal rulemaking under Title III until 2018, leaving businesses without standards on how to comply. In an effort to clarify whether ADA applies to websites and follow up on the letters sent by the state bankers associations, ABA this month met with House and Senate Judiciary Committee staff to urge members of the committees to engage on the issue.

These efforts coincide with the first rulings against plaintiffs alleging businesses’ websites are inaccessible. Specifically, on March 20, U.S. District Court Judge James Otero granted Domino’s Pizza’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a visually impaired plaintiff in the Central District of California. The court held that requiring Domino’s to provide an accessible website in the absence of a clear regulation would violate the company’s due process rights. Read the court decision. For more information, contact ABA’s Toni Cannady.


Senators Reintroduce ABA-Backed Liquidity Definition Bill


Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) yesterday reintroduced a bipartisan bill that would expand banks’ ability to count municipal securities as high-quality liquid assets under the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR). A similar bill backed by ABA passed the House in the last Congress.

While the Federal Reserve last spring issued a rule allowing certain municipal securities to be counted as HQLA--a step ABA has long advocated--the Senate bill would apply to all banking agencies. Due to the role banks play as investors in municipal markets, expansion of the HQLA definition is expected to be beneficial for all banks--not just those covered by the LCR. Read more.