= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = March 6, 2007 Vol. 2, No. 3

Spring 2007 Opportunities for NYBA Ser= vice Members

NYBA’s 4th An= nual Technology & Risk Management Forum Offers Exhibit, Sponsorship Opportunities

NYBA’s 4^th Annual Technology &= ; Risk Management Forum will be held May 14-15, 2007, at The Saratoga Hotel & Conference Center= in Saratoga Springs, New York. The program will include presentations by b= ank IT, risk management, information security and fraud management professional= s on the latest industry trends, best practices, regulatory developments and state-of-the-art technology. The Forum also offers an exceptional opportunity for bankers and NYBA Service Members to network and share ideas= on IT solutions. More than 40 exhibitors will have the opportunity to displ= ay their products and services on tabletop displays, designed to help banks meet their business needs. Also, a= ll meals and refreshment breaks will= be held in the exhibit area. The on-site program booklet will include exhibitor descriptions, company logos and contact information. There are a= lso sponsorship opportunities available for the reception, refreshment breaks, breakfast, lunch and the printing of the program book. All sponsors will be recognized from the podium, in printed program materials and in signage. To register, or for additional information, visit www.nyba.com/education= /meetings.html.

Senior Management Confer= ence will be held June 20-22, 2007 at The Otesaga Ho= tel in Cooperstown, New York. These key session= s for senior decision makers of New= York banks will include general sessions and concurrent breakout sessions on man= y of the challenges and trends impacting the industry. Many networking opportuni= ties and sponsorships are available.

You can learn more about sponsorship and/or exhibitor opportunities for all NYBA programs by contacting Mary Robb (212-297-1662, mrobb@nyba.c= om) or Bill Foley (212-297-1675, bfoley@nyba.com). Visit www.nyba.com for complete listings.<= /o:p>

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Professional Development

NYBA’s Professional Development Program Catalog f= or January through June provides a comprehensive look at all the schools, seminars, conferences, webinars, telephone seminars, online programming and continuing education opportunities available to bankers throughout New York State. Call 212-297-1666 or email = rmurja= ni@nyba.com for a copy. Extra copies are available to distribute to branches or other departments. Also, don’t forget to bookmark NYBA’s Online Calendar of Ev= ents (http://www.nyba.com/e= ducation/calendar.html).

Online Training Can Help= Your Employees Enhance Their Understanding

Training via the Internet, online training, or e-learn= ing, is gaining rapid acceptance by all types of organizations. It increases your firm’s productivity. With distance learning, your employees can avail themselves of broad-based training and education, delivered anytime and anywhere. NYBA has partnered with some of the leading developers of online training to bring you banking-specific, self-paced and instructor-led cours= es. One such program is “Princip= les of Banking,” which teaches the impact of banking on the economy, as = well as the trends, business and environment of commercial banking today. The co= urse provides a “big picture” perspective of the financial services industry and banking. After completing this course, your employees will bet= ter understand how banks operate.

To explore options in online training, please visit www.nyba.com, or contact Elisa R. Legg, Senior Vice President, Professional Developme= nt, at (212) 297-1679 (elegg@nyba.c= om) or Fred Corden, Vice President, Professional Development at (212) 297-1674 (fcorden@ nyba.com). You can also receive automatic updates on all of NYBA’s educational programs by signing up at www.nyba.com/education.

What’s New From NYBA Profit Solutions

Office Efficiency Aids: A suite of services in the “Profit Solutions” portfolio of the New York Bankers Service Corporation (NYBSCO) features products and services that promote office efficiency and save NYBA Members = and Service Members money. They include:

● The JP Morgan Chase “i-Vault!” electronic archive;

● The Encounter Colla= borative Discount Audio Conferencing Program; and,

● The Xerox Office Eq= uipment Program.

JPMorgan Chase’s “i-Vault!” Internet-based archive service 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. The system has been designed to run with standard browsers, so there= is no need for special equipment or software. = &nb= sp;

Encounter Collaborative’s Discount Audio Confere= ncing Program offers a secure= , less costly option for banks and other businesses on services ranging from simple multi-participant meetings to telephone seminars and broadcast conference events. There are three packages to choose from, ranging from reservation-l= ess conferencing to audio broadcasts with customized greetings and quality enha= nced audio controls. All offer toll-free numbers for participants and fees well below those of traditional conferencing providers.

The Xerox Office Equipment Program provides NYBA Members with additional discounts on purchased Xerox equipment. If you buy Xerox equipment, tell the merchant you are a NYBA Member and you will receive a discount above and be= yond what the dealer provides. Call (800) 275-9376, ext. 2265 and reference cont= ract number 0706438.

For further information on these NYBSCO products, plea= se contact NYBA’s Director of Field Marketing & Member Services Gus Kananis at (518) 434-3556, e-mail gkananis@nyba.com.

Service Members Can Compare Workers Comp Plans: Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., administrators of the NYBA Workers Compensation Saf= ety Group, offers NYBA Service Members non-binding quotes to compare your curre= nt coverage. In addition to attractive cost benefits, the Safety Group makes it much easier for HR professionals to keep track of claims and the status of injured employees. Underwritten by the PMA Group, the NYBA plan provides all participants with state-of-the-art on-line claims tracking and monthly repo= rts. PMA also provides – free of charge – an integrated disability management program that delivers quality managed care for injured employees. PMA medical professionals monitor the treatment of injured employees to help minimize medical and lost time expenses by returning employees to work as s= oon as possible. The NYBA Workers Compensation Safety Group offers significant up-front discounts off state mandated rates. For more information on this valuable program, please call Lynn Cagnetta of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co= , at (914) 697-6023 (e-mail lynn-cagnetta @ajg.com). Be sure to identify yoursel= f as a NYBA Service Member.

Government Relations Update=

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In Albany: NYBA’s campaign in opposition to the bank tax increases proposed in the Governor’s budget continued as NYBA President Mike Smith testified before a joint hearing on the revenue measures included in the budget, held a press conference to highlight the Association’s opposi= tion to the tax increases and spoke with individual members of the press. = The Association’s grassroots campaign, urging individual bankers to conta= ct key members of the Legislature, is in full swing across the State.

The Association urged that the State participate with the banking indust= ry in a comprehensive review of the bank tax law and concluded with a reaffirmation of its opposition to the “$1 billion worth of new taxes= on a vital New York<= /st1:State> industry.” NYBA also represented the Clearinghouse Association at the hearing. In its testimony, the Business Council also expressed its opposition to the bank tax increases.

Governor Spitzer nominated Richard H. Neiman as Superintendent of the Bank= ing Department. Mr. Neiman currently serves as Chairman, President= and CEO of TD Bank USA, N.A. He was Vice President and Counsel at Citicorp from 1979 to 1989. = His nomination is subject to confirmation. NYBA President Mike Smith, commented in The American Banker on Governor Spitzer’s pick to replace Superintend= ent Diana Taylor, saying that Richard Neiman's legal, regulatory, and banking experience make him a perfect fit for the position.

In Washington: The Senate Banking Committee he= ld the first hearing of the 110^th Congress on the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), which is up for renewal at the end of the year.&n= bsp; NYBA supports the extension of TRIA. The House Financial Services Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on TRIA renewal in New York City on Monday.

The federal financial regulatory agencies issued for c= omment a proposed Statement on Subprime Mortgage Lending to address certain risks and emerging issues relating to subprime mortgage lending practices. = The proposal is intended to address concerns that subprime borrowers may not fu= lly understand the risks and consequences of obtaining these products, and that= the products may pose an elevated credit risk to financial institutions.

The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) issued gift card guidance intended to help thrifts ensure adequate account administration and appropr= iate consumer disclosures. The OTS expects thrifts to provide information = to their customers regarding the terms, fees and basic features of their gift cards in a format readily available to the purchaser and recipient.

NYBA and other state and national industry trade associations are running an ad in Washington to educate lawmakers about the growth of bank-like credit unions. Th= e ad urges opposition to the Credit Union Regulatory Improvement Act, whi= ch would expand credit union business lending authority and decrease their cap= ital requirements.

Nyba News

NYBA regrets the passing on February 28, 2007 of Antho= ny J. Monteverdi, retired Chairman, President & CEO of Flatbush Federal Savings.

Ridgewood Savings Bank will acquire City and Suburban Financial Corp. of Yonkers, NY, for $119 million in cas= h. The deal was announced Friday, and will add nearly $4 billion to Ridgewood̵= 7;s assets, as well as 11 branches in metropolitan New Y= ork, including five in Manhattan and Westchester County. All of Ridgewood's 24 bran= ches are in Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and on Long Isla= nd.

Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke told Congress that t= he recent significant decline in global stock mark= ets did not change his outlook for “moderate growth” in the United States. He also said there’s not much indication that subprime issues = have spread into the broader mortgage market. Meanwhile, Fed New York President Geithner said the U.= S. economy “continues to demonstrate remarkable resilience.”

New home sales dropped in January by 16.6% nationwide,= to a rate 20% below a year ago, and median sales price was down 2.1%.

The Commerce Department says that the national savings= rate for 2006 was a negative 1%, the worst since the great depression. The accounting profession has declared this week “America Saves Week,R= 21; and launched a campaign and web site encouraging Americans to “feed t= he pig” (for piggy bank) and offering money-saving tips.

Pending legislature approval, a long awaited agreement among the State, labor and business officia= ls could lower employers’ workers’ compensation premium costs by 10 to15 percent.

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The cost of mailing a first class letter will probably= rise to 41 cents this spring. A regulatory panel has recommended the price incre= ase, as well as the introduction of a “forever 41” stamp whose value would remain at 41 cents against future rate increases.

Crooks are getting better at counterfeiting U.S. cu= rrency. The amount of fake cash in circulation is up 10%. As much as $62 million of fake cash entered circulation in 2005.

According to a new survey, the dollar amount of debit = card transactions doubled from $11 trillion to $22 trillion from 2001 to 2005. M= ost users say that the top incentive for using a debit card is the lack of an annual fee, followed by the ability to get cash back as part of the transaction.

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 (steho@nyba.c= om). Thank you.

“First Look” is published every other Monday by the <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">New York Bankers Association. Please s= end questions, comments or submissions to Stephen W. Rice, srice@nyba.com, Fax 518-434= -1576, or call 518-434-3557.