First Look
A digest of interest to NYBA's Service Members.


 

September 20, 2011 Vol. 7, No. 3  

NYBA MEETINGS OFFER GREAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR SERVICE MEMBERS    

NYBA's 61st Annual Retail & Small Business Banking Conference  
October 17-19, 2011 - Doubletree Tarrytown, Tarrytown, NY  

This conference is the in-state forum for retail and small business bankers. It’s an opportunity to stay abreast of innovations, gain new perspectives, build relationships and increase revenue. The industry’s senior retail executives, small business relationship managers and high-performing retail officers, branch administrators & managers will be attending. Sponsorship and exhibit opportunities are still available. Sponsors will be recognized from the podium, in program materials, on the web and on signage. Exhibitors: Tabletop displays are preferred. The onsite program book will include exhibitor descriptions, company logos and contact information. All receptions and meals will be held in the Exhibit area. To register, call 212-297-1683 or 212-297-1667…or, register online at www.nyba.com/education/2011_RSBB_Landing.html

Please contact Mary Robb (212-297-1662, mrobb@nyba.com) or Helene Yanofsky (212-297-1667, hyanofsky@nyba.com)  with any questions.

NYBA’s Financial Services Forum
November 9-11, 2011, Waldorf Astoria, NYC

NYBA’s Annual Financial Services Forum, the premier event on the Association’s annual calendar, will once again take place at New York City’s historic Waldorf=Astoria, and will feature three days of sessions including a Directors & Trustees Workshop, General & Concurrent Sessions, Breakfast Workshops and unequalled opportunities to meet and network with the leaders from banking, finance and government. This Forum is your chance to get your message out to a wide audience of CEOs, Presidents, Directors and other senior bank executives. There are many sponsorship opportunities at a range of pricing levels. Sponsors will be recognized on our website, in mailings and in our final onsite program. Sponsor ribbons on your name badges will also identify our supporters. Advertising in our 100-plus-page  onsite program book distributed to all attendees provides your firm with an additional chance to make an impact! For full information on sponsorship and advertising opportunities, please contact Mary K. Robb at mrobb@nyba.com (212-297-1662). To register: visit http://www.nyba.com/2011Forum.html and click on “Book Your Rooms” to reserve your hotel room. (To make your reservations by phone, call 1-800-WALDORF and mention code NYB.)  

Remember to regularly visit www.nyba.com and click on major meetings & conferences on all upcoming NYBA major meetings, including dates, location, sponsorships & pricing!  

  SoyPrint Toner Cartridges: Go “Green” using printer cartridges available at prices comparable to those you are paying for your ink cartridges. Each SoyPrint™ cartridge saves 2-3 quarts of oil by replacing traditional petroleum-based toner powder with toner derived from soybean oil. In addition, the cartridges minimize the impact on the waste stream, by saving an average of 6 pounds of heavy plastic from landfills. The empty cartridges are returned to the manufacturer and shipping costs are free. SoyPrint™ provides semi-annual reports that track environmental impact. Click here to order now.

XEROX Office Equipment Program 
Negotiate Your Best Deal – Then Take Off Even More

NYBSCO’s office equipment program provides NYBA members with additional discounts on purchased Xerox equipment. If you buy Xerox equipment, negotiate your best deal with the merchant, then receive a discount above and beyond what the dealer provides. The discount applies to equipment, supplies, training and systems management. Call (800) 275-9376, ext. 2265, and reference contract number 0706438 to qualify for the NYBA discount. For further information on this NYBSCO product, please contact NYBA’s Field Marketing Manager Gus Kananis at (518) 434-3556: e-mail gkananis@nyba.com .

E-Mail Encryption is Critical

NYBSCO-endorsed ZixCorp addresses email security with a comprehensive suite of services that include an email assessment program, a manual desktop encryption function for individual users and a corporate-wide solution for automatic content scanning and encryption. The enterprise-wide ZixVPM (Virtual Private Messenger) monitors all company outbound email and automatically determines whether information should be encrypted based on policies set by the organization and a built-in, pre-configured lexicon. The lexicon detects and encrypts email that contains nonpublic information, including Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, personal financial details and other confidential information. NYBSCO has negotiated special terms for NYBA Members and Service Members. To learn how ZixCorp can help secure your organization’s confidential email, contact ZixCorp’s Steve Irons at (781) 993-6023; email sirons@zixcorp.com  - be sure to identify yourself as a NYBA Service Member to qualify for your discount.

Business as Usual When the Unusual Strikes

NYBSCO recently announced its endorsement of Continuity Centers and their disaster recovery solutions. NYBSCO has made special arrangements for NYBA Members, and believes that Continuity Centers’ unique services will make recovery testing easier, help firms become more resilient, and save money in the process! Continuity Centers has more than 10 years’ experience specializing in disaster recovery, and they look forward to putting that expertise to work for NYBA members. To learn about special Members-only offers, including money-saving discounts, and to register for one of the upcoming webinars, please visit www.ContinuityCenters.com/NYBA . For more information, please contact Amy Whissen at 516.704.0017, Amy@ContinuityCenters.com.

NYBA’S Workers Comp Group Invites Service Members to Compare Coverage

Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services, administrators of the NYBA Workers Compensation Safety Group, now has an additional Safety Group Available to NYBA Service Members! In addition to attractive cost benefits, the Safety Group makes it much easier for the HR professionals at participating clients to keep track of claims and the status of injured employees. The NYBA-endorsed plans provide all participants with state-of-the-art on-line claims tracking and monthly reports. The Workers Compensation coverage available to NYBA Service Members offers significant up-front discounts off state mandated rates and the potential for dividends, depending on group experience. For more information on this valuable program, and to receive a non-binding quote to compare your current coverage, please call Lynn Cagnetta of Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services at (203) 642-0502 [e-mail lynn-cagnetta@ajg.com ]. Be sure to identify yourself as a NYBA Service Member.

Online Courses Provide High Quality Education with Online Convenience 
Help your employees build their banking knowledge  

How well do your employees understand the business of banking? The New York Bankers Association has had a long-standing commitment to providing timely, high quality, cost-effective lifelong learning.  Through a comprehensive program of schools, seminars, courses, conferences and workshops offered in flexible delivery formats, NYBA can help at every level develop professional and technical skills. Included in our offerings: introductory courses that can improve your background and insights into basic financial services, banking and economics.  

AIB courses, offered in both instructor-led and self-paced online formats, offer a cost-effective, time-efficient way to provide training for employees new to the banking industry. AIB Online courses provide in depth industry knowledge in such areas as Consumer Lending, Mortgage Lending, Analyzing Bank Performance, Analyzing Financial Statements, Principles of Banking, and more. Through the ABA eLearning platform, courses such as Banking Today, offer a perfect introduction to banking for your client contact employees.  

AIB Online: Money and Banking presents a fundamental treatment of how money functions in the U.S. and world economies. Topics include the concept of money supply and the role your bank plays as a money creator and participant in the nation's payment mechanism. Money and Banking also explains how the various types of financial institutions operate, the workings of monetary and fiscal policies, the functions and powers of the Federal Reserve, and more. The 16-week course begins on September 26, and then again on November 14.  

AIB Online: Principles of Banking has long been recognized as the standard introduction to the banking industry. It touches on nearly every aspect of banking, from the fundamentals of negotiable instruments to contemporary issues and developments within the industry…16-week courses begin on September 26, October 11 and October 24.  

Questions? Call NYBA Professional Development at 212-297-1679, or e-mail Elisa Legg at elegg@nyba.com. And, remember: NYBA Education Updates are available via e-mail - Sign up now! Visit nyba.com and click on our education & meetings section.  

ALBANY  

NYBA is continuing to inform and counsel the Legislature on foreclosure issues, meeting last week with Senator Jeff Klein (D-Bronx), one of the most outspoken advocates for lender maintenance of properties in foreclosure.  Bankers in attendance explained how they monitor and address maintenance issues, particularly with regard to vacant properties, and NYBA plans to continue to work with legislative leaders on providing lending and foreclosure information.    

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance has provided guidance to taxpayers affected by tropical storm Irene, postponing both return filing and many types of tax payments from August 26 to October 31, 2011 for affected taxpayers in the Counties of Albany, Clinton, Delaware, Dutchess, Essex, Greene, Montgomery, Nassau, Orange, Otsego, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Sullivan, Suffolk, Ulster, Warren, and Westchester.  

WASHINGTON  

The Treasury Department approved an additional investment of $767 million in 50 additional community banks across the country as part of the Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF).  130 community banks have now received more than $1.8 billion in SBLF funding.  Three New York banks were among the funding recipients, with the Elmira Savings Bank, FSB getting $14.1 million, the Alma Bank receiving $19.0 million and PathFinder Bank receiving $13million.                                                                                                                                              

The United States Senate passed legislation (H.R. 1249) to reform the Patent Office.  Designed to expedite and modernize review and approval of patent applications, the bill contains a provision that establishes a post-grant review proceeding for reviewing the validity of covered business-method patents (claiming a method or corresponding apparatus for performing data processing or other operations used in the practice, administration, or management of a financial product or service, except technological inventions).  This provision, supported by the national trade groups to clarify the right to patent banking-related computer programs, survived a vote to strip it from the legislation.  Both New York Senators voted against the amendment and in favor of final passage.  The bill now goes to President Obama, who is expected to sign it.  

SPECIAL  ELECTIONS IN NEW YORK  

Statewide special elections held Tuesday, September 13  provided a major upset as Republican Bob Turner beat Democrat David Weprin in the 9th Congressional District in Queens and Brooklyn.  The seat, formerly held by ex-Representative Anthony Weiner, has been in Democratic hands since 1922, and was considered one of the safest Democratic districts in the country.  

Six NYS Assembly seats were also up for grabs on Tuesday, with Democrats returned to all of them.  In Queens’ 23rd District, Consumer Affairs Chairman Audrey Pheffer's former seat, Phillip Goldfeder (D, I, WF) beat Jane Deacy (R, C).  The 27th District, also in Queens, went to Michael Simanowitz (D, I, WF) over Marco Desena (R, C).  Former Banks Committee Chairman Darryl Towns' Seat in Brooklyn’s 54th District went to Rafael Espinal (D, R, C, UWC) over Jesus Gonzalez (WF) and Deidra Towns (CFP).  The 73rd District Seat in Manhattan saw Dan Quart (D, WF) defeat Paul Niehaus.  And Utica’s 116th District had Anthony Brindisi (D, I, WF) over Gregory Johnson (R, C), while Sean Ryan (D, WF) defeated Sean Kipp (R) in the 144th District.

Effective September 12, Walden Federal Savings & Loan officially changed its name to Hometown Bank of the Hudson Valley. Mailing addresses and telephone numbers of personnel remain the same. The new e-mail exchange is @hometownbankhv.com                                                                                    

“First Look” is published by the New York Bankers Association. Please send questions, commentsor submissions to Stephen W. Rice, srice@nyba.com, Fax 518-434-1576, or call 518-434-3557. We are sending you this e-mail for your information. If you prefer not to receive any further messages from us, you may unsubscribe to “First Look” by contacting Steve Rice at 518-434-3557 or srice@nyba.com .