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As part of a report on "high risk" areas in government, the Government Accountability Office expanded the scope of its review of regulatory issues to include the Federal Housing Administration.
February 14
A gathering of several hundred community bankers all but assures griping over the role of the federal government in their affairs. That will likely be the case at the American Bankers Association's annual conference for community banks.
After all, banks face looming regulation, in the form of the Dodd-Frank Act, and uncertainty over implementation. As a result, bankers feel as though they are running their banks in the dark, says Gregg Vandaveer, president and chief executive of Sooner State Bank in Tuttle, Okla.
"Obviously the No. 1 issue for any banker is added regulations," Vandaveer says. "They've got Dodd-Frank and we don't even know what it's going to say yet. There's no telling how many pages it will end up with."
Other issues will be top of mind for community bankers at this year's conference, scheduled for Feb. 17-20 in Orlando, Fla. Those issues include the challenge of finding revenue without taking on excessive risk.
Despite countless worries, attendance is up compared with previous years, with roughly 450 banking executives expected to attend, says Christine Walika, executive vice president for the ABA's community bank group. That could reflect a changing mind-set among community bankers, she says.
"Over the last four years, a lot of bankers felt like they needed to stay home and take care of business," Walika says. "There is definitely more optimism" this year.
The ABA does not give a "bright line" definition for what constitutes a community bank, but the association's community bank conference is marketed primarily to banks and thrifts with assets of less than $3 billion, Walika says.
Several of this year's sessions focus on changes in how consumers handle their finances, which partially reflects increased access to information via the Internet. Bankers will discuss, at some of sessions, how to keep customers who save more and borrow less; how to market to customers who never enter a branch; and consumers' growing distaste for, and unwillingness to buy, products that include fees.
Underscoring the changing nature of consumer behavior is the need for community banks to find new ways to make money, while remaining in good stead with regulatory examiners, says Ken Burgess Jr., chairman of FirstCapital Bank of Texas in Midland.
"Bankers are feeling worried about innovation and about regulators coming down on them for innovating," says Burgess, who chaired the working group that organized this year's speakers and topics.
It's more of a concern at smaller banks because a mistake in a new product or business venture can have enormous consequences, Burgess says. That's not necessarily the case for bigger banks, he says.
Other sessions will focus on how community banks can offer prepaid cards; the ongoing discussion in Washington about
Vandaveer has been a frequent attendee of the association's past community bank conferences because, he says, it allows him to bounce ideas off people who won't try to use the ideas against him.
"I know bankers all over the country" from past ABA conferences, Vandaveer says. "I call them and see what they're doing. That's better than calling my friends who are bankers around here. I don't want them to know what I'm doing."
Unlike its past conferences, the association opted against putting regulators on the program this year. Bankers told conference planners that they preferred to wait to talk to regulators at the association's Government Relations Summit in Washington in April, Walika says.
Instead, Frank Keating, the association's president and chief executive, and staff members will discuss regulatory issues with attendees. Issues will include "Basel III, the new mortgage rules and tax reform," Walika says.
