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First Look
A
bi-weekly digest of interest to NYBA's Service Members. 
September 11, 2006 Vol.
1, No. 9
Upcoming NYBA Opportunities for Service Members
NYBA’s 56th
Annual Retail & Small Business Banking Conference
The New
York Bankers Association will hold its 56th Annual Retail &
Small Business Banking Conference Monday through Wednesday, October 23
– 25 at The Crowne Plaza Hotel in Albany. This premiere
in-state forum helps retail bankers gain new insights on creative ways
to achieve superior results, and provides the necessary tools and
strategies to help them to grow their retail and small business
sectors in today's demanding and competitive environment. Sponsorship
and table top/free standing exhibitor opportunities are available for
NYBA Service Members. This conference is extremely vendor-friendly:
breakfast, receptions, refreshment breaks and Tuesday’s luncheon will
be held in the exhibitor area to ensure maximum contact. The program
offers ample opportunity to build and enhance banker relationships.
Don’t miss out on networking with approximately 150 decision-makers
responsible for retail strategy, retail sales, retail credit, branch
administration, product delivery and small business. Improve your
exposure to this key industry segment: attend conference sessions on
the latest trends and developments; include your firm’s products and
services and list your key contacts in our on-site conference program.
Sponsors’ literature will also be prominently displayed. Please
note these important cutoff dates: September 21 for hotel room
registration; October 11 for program listing. For additional
information, contact Mary Robb (Mrobb@nyba.com)
or Bill Foley (Bfoley@nyba.com).
Visit our website at www.nyba.com for important conference updates.
NYBA’s 60th
Annual trust & investment conference
NYBA’s Trust &
Investment Conference is set for October 4 – 6 at The Otesaga Hotel in
Cooperstown. Plan to attend this session for trust and
investment executives that offers exceptional opportunities to discuss
ways to enhance the competitiveness and growth of the trust industry
in New York. Leading experts share insights on the latest developments
and practices impacting bank business and clients. The conference
features peer networking opportunities to discuss solutions to the
challenges facing the wealth management business. Service members:
take advantage of sponsorship, exhibitor and networking opportunities.
Contact Mary Robb at
mrobb@nyba.com by September 15th to finalize
sponsorship, exhibitor and program listings. Visit the
www.nyba.com for further details.
NYBA’s Annual
Convention:
►
Golf Deadline Nears
The block of golf tee-times reserved exclusively
for NYBA convention delegates for the tournaments Wednesday, November
8; Thursday, November 9 and Friday, November 10, expires on October
10. To ensure that you can play in the Individual Stroke Tournament on
Wednesday; the Scramble Tournament on Thursday, or the Spouse\Guest
Tournament on Friday, please submit your golf registration forms by
October 10. For further information, please call Bill Foley at (212)
297-1675, e-mail:
bfoley@nyba.com
► Vice Chairman’s
Pre-Convention Reception for Early Arrivals
A highlight of the Annual Convention is the Vice
Chairman’s Reception for NYBA service members and the CEOs of member
banks. The reception will be held at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, November 7.
If you’re at the Biltmore that day, plan to attend.
Human Resources
Conference: First Ever Opportunity for Table Top Exhibits
This year’s Human Resources Management Conference
(Sept 27-28, Syracuse Wyndham Hotel) is expected to draw a sizable
audience – and, will offer a brand new feature. For the first time
ever, vendors have the opportunity to bring table-top exhibits – a
great way for key service providers to meet one-on-one with HR
Directors and senior HR officers from a wide cross-section of New York
financial institutions. Sessions will feature important trends and
challenges facing New York State's financial institutions in managing
their people assets, and focus on the role of HR as a strategic
business partner. Visit
http://www.nyba.com/education/meetings.html for further
information, or call Fred Corden at (212) 297-1674 or email
fcorden@nyba.com. Exhibit space is going fast!
To learn more about sponsorship and/or
exhibitor opportunities for NYBA programs, please contact Mary Robb
(212-297-1662,
mrobb@nyba.com) or Bill Foley (212-297-1675,
bfoley@nyba.com).
Professional Development
Need to Brush Up
on the Basics?: Register for “Principles of Banking”
“Principles of Banking” introduces the essential
principles, concepts and operations of banking. Participants will
learn the impact of banking on the economy, as well as the trends,
business and environment of commercial banking today. The course will
provide a “big picture” perspective of the financial services industry
and banking. After completing this course, students will be able to
describe the US banking industry and its relation to the US economy;
explain how banks operate as a business; define the administrative and
functional lines for most banks; interpret bank financial statements;
summarize important federal laws and regulations affecting bank
operations and practices, and describe bank competitors in the
financial marketplace and trends likely to affect the future of
banking. Available through self-paced e-learning, online instruction
or in-house classroom instruction. Contact Elisa Legg (elegg@nyba.com)
or Fred Corden (fcorden@nyba.com).
NYBA’s
Website Offers Wide Array of Educational Programming
Visit
www.nyba.com/education and explore the numerous educational and
training opportunities available. Whether through online seminars,
telephone seminars, in-bank sessions or schools, bankers and firms
that work with New York’s banks can stay fully up-to-date on the
latest developments and trends impacting the industry.
For further information, contact Elisa R.
Legg, Senior Vice President, Professional Development, at (212)
297-1679 or
elegg@nyba.com. Don’t forget to sign up to receive updates on all
of NYBA’s educational programs by e-mail at
www.nyba.com/education.
What’s New From NYBA Profit Solutions
The Insurance & Member Services “Profit
Solutions” Division includes the Group Creditors Insurance Trust which
has returned more than $20 million in dividends to participating banks
over the past 10 years; a vibrant Retirement System with more than
$160 million under management and the Group Employee Insurance Trust
which provides superior benefits at affordable rates. In addition, a
variety of fee-income producing and cost-saving products and services
are offered through the Association’s wholly-owned subsidiaries –
Circuit Agency, Inc., and the New York Bankers Service Corporation (NYBSCO).
Our goal is to provide the highest level of customer service to all
member banks and service members both with our own staff and the
companies with which we work. Call for information on how to reduce
costs at your business at (800) 522-5607.
NYBA has endorsed JP Morgan Chase’s “i-Vault!”
Internet-based archive service which provides the ability to
electronically load, store and retrieve virtually any kind of
document. “i-Vault!” provides a centralized repository of data that
can be accessed by bank employees through the Internet. It offers a
secure digital archive with virtually unlimited storage capacity at
very affordable rates – you pay just once when the document is
stored. It can be retrieved as often as needed with no additional
charge. The system has been designed to run with standard browsers, so
there is no need for special equipment or software.
For further information, contact NYBSCO’s Field
Marketing Director Gus Kananis at (518) 286-9287: e-mail
gkananis@nyba.com.
Government Relations Update
In
Albany:
Among the bills the Legislature sent to the
Governor for consideration last week was S. 6909-C (Morahan)/A.
10076-D (Pheffer), protecting the confidentiality of social security
numbers. The final bill provides businesses somewhat more flexibility
than the prior Assembly version, and contains an exemption requested
by NYBA for the use of social security numbers in transactions covered
by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act’s privacy provisions. This is one of a
package of privacy bills that NYBA helped negotiate in the Legislature
this year that the Association was able to either support or not
object to. The Governor has until September 13 to decide whether to
sign or veto.
Two Assembly Committees have announced two days
of hearings in September and October to address banking and other
services for the poor, following up on a series of articles that
appeared in the Buffalo News in June. The hearings, on September 20
in Buffalo and in October in New York City, will be held jointly by
the Assembly Banks and Consumer Affairs and Protection Committees and
are designed to respond to concerns raised in the news articles about
high fees and interest charges paid by lower income consumers in
dealing particularly with “rent-to-own” stores, check cashers and
payday lenders.
A full list of banking legislation passed during
the 2006 NYS Legislative session is available on NYBA’s website (http://www.nyba.com/).
In
Washington:
Congress has returned from the August recess, and
has begun the final stretch up to Election Day. With the focus
expected to be on national security issues, most observers believe the
only banking initiative with a chance for passage could be regulatory
relief legislation.
On the regulatory front, The FDIC Board adopted a
final rule implementing the increase from $100,000 to $250,000 in
deposit insurance for certain retirement accounts. The rule specifies
– using bank terminology – which types of retirement accounts are
eligible for the increased insurance coverage, and confirms that the
term “self-directed” includes open-end retirement plans in which the
participant invests in a deposit account. The final rule will go into
effect 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register.
NYBA News
Ulster Savings Bank has named Marjorie S.
Rovereto as President and Chief Executive Officer, replacing Clifford
Miller, who has retired. Richard V. Roth has been named Executive Vice
President, Chief Operating Officer and Treasurer, and James C. Embree
has been elected Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Also, Chemung
Financial and Chemung Canal Trust Company elected David J. Dalrymple
Chairman of the Board, Jan P. Undegraff Vice Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer, and Ronald M. Bentley as President & COO.
Industry Insights
The record number of homes on the market may
cause prices to temporarily fall below their levels of a year-ago as
the market works through a buildup in housing inventory. The last time
the monthly median price for an existing home fell from a year earlier
was February 1993, when it dipped 1.1%. The National Association of
Realtors expects sales of existing and new homes to fall 7.6% and 16%,
respectively, this year – bigger declines than previously predicted.
The primary reason: sellers are refusing to reduce asking prices in
the aftermath of the significant price gains of the recent boom years.
The Federal Reserve’s “Beige Book” reported on
economic conditions in the 12 Fed districts over the past six weeks.
The New York district noted signs of
decelerating economic activity, but deposit and loan rates increased
across all categories. 35% of bankers reported a decrease in loan
demand, while18% said demand increased. Credit standards tightened for
all loan categories except residential mortgages; those stayed the
same, but delinquency rates edged up.
A recent survey found
that consumer confidence statewide declined 2.4 points during August
to 74.1, compared to a national decline of 2.7 points to 82. Upstate
continues to be more pessimistic than downstate.
With the new pension law allowing Roth 401(k)
plans to remain an option, more businesses may consider offering them
to employees as an alternative to regular 401(k) plans.
New travel restrictions mean U.S. citizens will
need passports to re-enter the country by air or sea from Canada,
Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean as of January 1, 2007 – and require
them to re-enter across land borders by January 1, 2008.
The U.S. Labor Department reported that the
unemployment rate fell to 4.7% in August from 4.8% in July. U.S.
employers added 128,000 workers to their payrolls during August.
We are sending you this e-mail for your
information. If you prefer not to receive any further messages from
us, just reply to this e-mail and let us know. You may also
unsubscribe to “First Look” by calling Susan Teho at
212-297-1660. Thank you.
“First Look” is published every other Monday
by the New York Bankers Association. Please send questions, comments
or submissions to Stephen W. Rice,
srice@nyba.com, Fax 518-434-1576, or call 518-434-3557.
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