GBA Retirement Plan Year-End Results Strong
All of the
LifeStylesSM
portfolios greatly exceeded their year-to-date benchmarks by 10 percent
or more.
More GBARS results....
How to Get Tax Savings from REO Properties
Your
bank may be able to seek tax relief on
REO properties through county tax reassessments. As a resource for
members, GBA Associate Member Rasmus Real Estate Group's sister company
Real Property Appeals Group has provided the linked article:
Lenders are Missing
Out on Potential Tax Savings.
Boost Influence, Trust,
Business with E-Mail Marketing
Turn your e-mail system into a marketing
machine.
Financial Marketing Solutions has new E-Mail
Marketing Solutions that simplify the process of using
e-mail to market your bank to current customers and solidify
your relationship with new ones.
More about e-mail
marketing...
Attract and Retain Customers with the
Deluxe Experience
Deluxe Financial Services
is more than just a check printer. Deluxe offers programs
that can add to your bank's profitability and maximize
customer satisfaction.
More great customer programs...
Job Bank
Find a job, post a job
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Legislative Update
First Bill to Pass House is GBA's Priority
Legislative Initiative
The first bill passed in the
Georgia House this session was GBA's priority
legislation
that allows state chartered banks to renew loans that would have
otherwise exceeded the bank's lending limit because of capital erosion.
In other legislative news this week, GBA's
Elizabeth Chandler
and
Joe Brannen
testified before a House
Judiciary Subcommittee considering a bill to lengthen the
foreclosure notice provisions from 30 to 90 days and allow a borrower to
cure the deficiency before foreclosure. Brannen also testified before
the new House Small Business Committee this week.
Full details and
new bills being tracked...
Georgia Banks Well
Represented at FDIC Community Bank Committee Meeting
 Georgia
banking issues went straight to the top of the house when the FDIC's
Community Bank Advisory Committee met Jan. 28. Georgia's
Dan Blanton,
President and CEO,
Georgia Bank and Trust,
Augusta, is a member of the 14-person group of bankers. In an unplanned
bit of seating fate, FDIC Chairman
Sheila Bair
took an unoccupied seat at the table with Dan and another banker during
one session, so they got to share some one-on-one discussion that was
valuable.
More about what Dan learned...
Isakson Pushes Back on Regulators in Speech
 The unintended consequences of regulations that have good
intentions are prolonging the recession for homeowners and small
businesses, according to Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson. "We are
making a recession that is deep, that is broad, and that is pervasive
worse because of the unintended consequences of well-intended
regulation," Isakson said during a speech on the Senate floor this week.
"I encourage our regulators to give the great American ingenuity and
entrepreneurship the chance to work. Sure, some of these people are in
trouble, but there are avenues outside of that trouble."
More from
Isakson's speech...
New Small Business Resources from GBA
We can't make a single small business loan here at the
GBA, but we can give good advice and information. So, this week we
launched a new Small Business Toolbox on our web site with links to a
variety of resources. "GBA and its members want Georgia's small
businesses to grow and thrive. Information is power, and we think these
secrets to success and resources will help business and banks come
together to return strong growth to our state," said Joe Brannen,
President and CEO of the Georgia Bankers Association.
More about the
new toolbox...
New Capital Proposed for Community Banks
President Obama renewed his
push for more lending for small businesses this week by announcing his
proposal for investing in Community Banks. The plan would put
$30 billion in
repaid Troubled Asset Relief Program funds to a new Small Business
Lending Fund. Banks with $10 billion or less in assets that receive
primary-regulator approval would be eligible to participate in the
program, which would be separate and distinct from TARP. There are
specific incentives built in to the program for banks to use the capital
to secure funding for small business loans.
More about new capital...
News Stories
of Note this Week
With
another week comes another set of banking related news stories. The GBA
continues to be a resource for statewide journalists and contributors.
Stories of note included ongoing concerns about bank closures and a good
overview of the broad banking environment.
More about this week's
news...
Banks Cease
Tightening on Some Loans, Demand still Low, says Fed
The Federal Reserve released its most recent
Senior Loan Officer Survey this week with some relatively encouraging
news. The survey found that "commercial
banks generally ceased tightening standards on many loan types in the
fourth quarter of last year but have yet to unwind the considerable
tightening that has occurred over the past two years. The net
percentages of banks reporting tighter loan terms continued to trend
lower. Banks reported that loan demand from both businesses and
households weakened further, on net, over the survey period."
More from the Fed Survey...
'Crown Royal
Bandit' Gets 127 Years
A man charged with robbing 29 banks in Georgia
over the span of a decade was sentenced to 127 years in prison this
week. The robberies occurred between 1997 and 2008 in the Middle and
Northern Districts of Georgia. Authorities referred to him as the "Crown
Royal Bandit" because in the first few bank robberies, he used purple
Crown Royal liquor bags to collect the money.
More about the
bandit...
Fed Rolls Out New Web Site for
Bank Directors
The Federal Reserve on Monday launched a web
site to help new bank directors learn how they can work to ensure the
safety and soundness of their institutions.
More about the Fed's new
web site...
FDIC Continues to Stress
Responsible Interest Rate Risk Management
We reported
last month that the FDIC is suggesting banks be careful in regard to
their Interest Rate Risk. On Jan. 29 the FDIC hosted a symposium on
Interest Rate Risk Management in Washington, D.C. Speakers stressed they
don't know when interest rates will begin to increase, but they pointed
out that the Fed's accommodative policy will not last forever and short
term rates will rise.
More about IRR Management...
Newsmakers
More people news.
Pleger |
McLeroy |
Read All About It --
Send Us Your News
Please remember to include the Georgia
Bankers Association on the list of recipients for
announcements about promotions, new employees and special
recognition your bank has received. We want to share your
news with your colleagues across the state. Please forward
your announcements and photos to GBA's
Lydia Thomas. |
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Great for Managing Technical Security Controls
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