Your IBANYS Team: 
Working Together To Make 2016 A Great Year 
For New York C ommun ity Banks !
 
In This Issue

Quick Links

Have You Contributed to NYSIBPAC This Year?
If not...now is the time! We need your help in this statewide election year to support candidates and committees who understand community banks' needs. Can we count on you?
CLICK HERE for our 2016 PAC contribution form. Help support IBANYS' political action efforts in New York State.

Partner

November 9, 2016
IBANYS Member Banks:
Watch The Mail for  Your  2016-17  Renewal Letter & Dues Invoice For  Fiscal Year 2016-17. . .

Please Also Note: 
 IBANYS accepts referrals for banks that are not currently members, and for companies that not yet associate members.
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New York Community Banks: 
It's Benefits Season! 
It's approaching the time to sign up for health benefits for 2017. We suggest you take a look at our healthcare partner, My Wellness Resource" as an addition to your existing benefit package. The  Teledoc  program is an exciting new way to provide value to your institution and employees. It provides 24/7/365 access to a doctor through the convenience of phone or video consults. It is an affordable option for quality medical care.  Click here to read how high deductibles can lead to health care avoidance,  
and here to learn how this program can help you in planning your health care benefits package. Community banks can take advantage of a low-cost, non-traditional program to help save time and money, and offer employees on demand health care. It's an exciting new way for community banks to provide additional health care benefits options, reduce cost and retain employees -- designed to improve productivity, decrease absenteeism and boost morale without straining your bottom line.   C ontact Alan Justin, Managing Partner at (716) 907-5500 or call the IBANYS office at (518) 436-4646.  For more details on the benefits of the My Wellness Resource Card, visit: 
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IBANYS Members: 
Sign Up To Serve On Our Committees
IBANYS relies on our member banks to play a pivotal role in our policy formulation, operations and programming. We need YOUR bank represented on our committees, to make sure we are addressing the issues, programs, products and services important to your institution, and our industry. Why not sign up for one of the following Committees or Peer Groups?
  • Government Relations Committee 
  • CFO Peer Group
  • Compliance Peer Group
  • Innovation Committee
E-mail IBANYS' Director of Operations Linda Gregware (Linda@ibanys.net) for details/to sign up.
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Impact On New York State
Republican Donald Trump is President-Elect of the United States, apparently losing the popular vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton, but winning a comfortable victory in the electoral college. He becomes the first New Yorker to be elected president since Franklin D. Roosevelt.  Secretary Clinton defeated Mr. Trump in New York State. President-Elect Trump will meet at the White House tomorrow with President Obama to begin the transition. Mike Pence is the new Vice President-Elect. The Trump administration will have Republican majorities in the U.S. House and Senate for at least the first two years of his presidency.
 
In the New York State Senate, with most of the year's competitive races decided,  Republican State Senate candidates had a lead in 31 of the state's 63 districts and claimed victory in their effort to keep control of the legislative chamber.  If these numbers hold and Democrat Simcha Felder remains with the conference he's belonged to for four years, GOP ranks would hold steady at 32 members. Senate GOP Majority Leader John Flanagan (R-L.I.)   There was some uncertainty in two races on Long Island, where GOP Senator Michael Venditto trailed Democrat John Brooks 64,499 to 64,466, and GOP Senator Carl Marcellino leads Democrat James Gaughran,  68,647 to 66,019.  Democrats believe the number of absentee ballots in both races is larger than the GOP incumbents' margins of victory, that most were submitted by Democrats. B oth races appear to be headed to a recount.  Outside of the possibilities of Marcellino and Venditto losing in recounts, no incumbents were ousted anywhere in the state, and only two districts had different results than 2014. In vacant seat races, GOP Erie County Clerk Chris Jacobs led Democrat Amber Small by over 19 points, and Republican Elaine Phillips by more than 4,000 votes over Democrat Adam Haber.  The apparent GOP majority impacts Sen. Jeff Klein (D-Bronx) and his now seven-member Independent Democratic Conference. If the results hold, the IDC will likely still have some role working with a slim GOP majority. 

Meanwhile, the New York State Assembly remained overwhelmingly in Democratic control, with the GOP perhaps down one seat.

On The Federal Scene:  
  • Senator Chuck Schumer won an overwhelming re-election victory, but will not become the first New Yorker to serve as U.S. Senate Majority Leader, as Republicans retained the majority. 
  • In U.S. House races in New York, Republican John Faso beat Democrat Zephyr Teachout in the Hudson Valley seat vacated by retiring Rep. Chris Gibson. Incumbent freshmen GOP Reps. John Katko, Lee Zeldin and Elise Stefanik all won re-election. GOP Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney won a three-way contest to replace retiring GOP Rep. Richard Hanna. On Long Island, Democrat Tom Suozzi defeated GOP State Sen. Jack Martins to replace retiring Democratic Rep. Steve Israell.
Nationally , Republicans were in control of the House , 240-195. Republicans appeared to limit their losses to the single digits. Speaker Paul Ryan is expected to continue in that position. The GOP will also retain control of the Senate, with at least 51 seats.  In New Hampshire, the race between Republican incumbent Kelly Ayotte and Democrat Maggie Hassan is still undecided. In Louisiana, the race for an open seat will go to a runoff election December 10. The incumbent Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte led Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan by 215 votes. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) was the only Republican incumbent to lose.  Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is expected to continue as Senate Majority Leader. New York's Sen. Chuck Schemer is expected to succeed retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid in that post. 

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS

IBANYS Meets With DFS, Developing Responses
To Regulatory Proposals  
IBANYS met with representatives from the State Department of Financial Services to discuss our concerns and views regarding the DFS proposed cybersecurity regulation. We also are finalizing our comment letter on the issue, and developing a position on the DFS proposed regulation on "zombie properties." IBANYS' Government Relations Committee continues to review these issues and provide input as we develop our responses. DFS has also issued a new guidance on incentive compensation that could also have a significant impact on community banks, and establish a precedent nationally and for other states. Thanks to member banks who have participated, provided input and shared their concerns.

Lame Duck Congressional Session
The House and Senate will return to Washington on November 15th to begin a lame duck session and will work for about four weeks with a recess for the week of Thanksgiving.  Government funding authority expires December 9, so Congress will have to extend that authority either through the passa ge of short or long term "continuing resolutions" (which would maintain funding at the current level) or through passage of an omnibus appropriations bill that would authorize funding through fiscal year 2017. Such a bill
could become a vehicle for a limited number of other bills,  though cong ressional leaders typically try to keep an omnibus relatively "clean."  ICBA will try to emulate its year-end 2015 success, when several community bank priorities were attaching them to the "must - pass" highway funding bill . During the upcoming Lame Duck, ICBA will continues to press a list of targeted bills that ripe for inclusion. 

As for the 2017 session, ICBA believes that unified Republican control of the executive and legislative branches "presents a unique opportunity for enacting significant community bank regulatory relief," and plans to leverage this opportunity "for the benefit of community banks, their customers, and the communities they serve." 

What Are YOUR Top 2017 
Federal Regulatory Relief Priorities
In preparing for the upcoming 2017 congressional session in January, ICBA is asking for your input in updating the "Plan for Prosperity" community bank regulatory relief program. IBANYS has strongly supported the "PFP" and has advocated for its provisions in meetings with members of our new York Congressional Delegation in Washington, D.C.  Click here to review the 2016 PFP program, and then Click here to complete a survey to share your bank's top priorities and concerns.  Thanks for your participation! P lease take a moment to review both documents and provide your feedback on what you would like to see prioritized in 2017. 
Return your survey to: 
Alan.Keller@icba.org, FAX 202.659.3604.

Ask Your Congressional Reps To 
Co-Sponsor H.R. 6100
ICBA and IBANYS urge community bankers to
contact their local Members of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor legislation to block a proposed tax increase for family businesses, impacting community banks.  H.R. 6100 (Davidson, R-OH) would block a Treasury proposal to effectively end estate-planning techniques used to transfer community banks and other family owned businesses from generation-to-generation. The proposed rule under Section 2704 of the Tax Code would disallow valuation discounts for minority stakes or stakes that aren't marketable. The proposal would increase the tax on many estates by more than 30% -- resulting in forced sales and bank consolidation. Please act now: Visit www.congressweb.com/icba/44.

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

Election Impact On Fed? 
Prior to Tuesday's election, Wall Street widely expected  the Fed  to enact its first rate hike in a year at the December Federal Open Market Committee meeting.  However, as it became clear that Trump was going to score an improbable victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton, the market recalibrate. Trump has been critical of the Fed and its keeping interest rates low. Hi s victory could cast some doubt over Federal Reserve Chair  Janet Yellen's  future. He has  indicated he might replace Yellen after her term ends in January 2018, and some analysts now speculate whether she would resign earlier. Regardless , he will be able to  name as many as five new FOMC members in his first 18 months in office , according to an analysis by Goldman Sachs. Obviously, m arkets will watch closely to see what direction a Trump administration might take the Fed at a key time for monetary policy.

MEMBER BENEFITS 

IBANYS initiatives can provide value and bottom line benefits to New York community banks. Take a moment to review them.  We hope you take full advantage of these exciting opportunities.

 .BANK Toolkit & Digital Campaign. . .
IBANYS encourages New York community banks to take a look at  a digital campaign that fTLD has put together to raise the visibility of .BANK  in the marketplace.  ICBA asked us to pass along this opportunity for banks to join in with ICBA, ABA and the Financial Services Roundtable to promote .BANK. To view the campaign, view the toolkit and read nine different ads available for use, click on the link below, or cut and paste it into your browser. Click below:
E x celsior Growth Fund (EGF). . .
EGF is  a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution formed by New York Business Development Corporation (NYBDC). EGF is endorsed by IBANYS as the exclusive online lending 
partner for association
members.  EGF provides innovative financial solutions and business advisory services to underserved small businesses in New York State through a fast, simple and secure online lending platform. Its core product is the EGF SmartLoan™, which features amounts up to $100,000, approvals within 1-2 days and disbursements within one week. Importantly, interest rates a fraction of those typically offered by online lenders.  EGF offers banks a unique customer retention solution when a customer either does not qualify for a bank's loan offerings, or is seeking the fast,   transparent process available through online lenders. To facilitate retention, EGF shares performance information on the referred loan portfolio on a quarterly basis and offers the opportunity for the bank to purchase referred loans at par at any time. 
Additional details on the EGF SmartLoan, including eligibility criteria, are available at:

For details, or to make a referral, contact Bryan Doxford, Chief Lending Officer at Excelsior Growth Fund:  bryan.doxford@excelsiorgrowthfund.org or  (212) 430-4512.

 
We also joined the  "Cure the Blue" effort to raise funds and awareness regarding prostate cancer in New York State. We are partnering with the Buffalo Bills Alumni Foundation, and hope to see a number of IBANYS members participate. Please join us in supporting this worthwhile cause. Visit www.curetheblue.com to get involved!  
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IBANYS Webinars For 
New York Community Banks 
New York's community banks face a wide range of challenges. Officers, board members and employees need to understand their responsibilities -- and, potential liabilities -- are not about to diminish. They require the information and tools required to meet their responsibilities, and properly prepare the bank for the future.  One way to assure this is to participate in  IBANYS' webinars -- tailored to the needs of New York community banks. The programs are both effective and cost-effective, and couldn't be more convenient! Community banks' officers, directors and employees participate directly from their offices. Over the past two years, the number of bankers participating in IBANYS webinars has risen dramatically increased.  Find out why. Join  your industry and association peers and take full advantage of these timely webinars.  Review  our upcoming programs by clicking the link below:
https://financialedinc.com/a/ibanys/category/live


. . .The Bonadio Group
 
With offices in New York State and Vermont, The Bonadio Group provides a complete range of financial and consulting services - from auditing and tax, to multidimensional accounting, business advisory, and financial services. 

It's a new world in banking and finance. Banks are under more scrutiny than ever. The Federal Reserve, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and others are determined to improve efficiency, in part by preventing and detecting fraud, waste and abuse.
From banks, to mortgage and finance companies, to broker-dealers and credit unions, Bonadio understands the specialized services financial firms require. Of course, they offer impeccable financial statement audits. But their extensive offering covers every issue a financial institution faces, such as:
  • Risk management services, from IT audits to IT penetration testing
  • Loan reviews and fraud investigations
  • Bank and federal reserve regulatory filings
  • Sarbanes-Oxley compliance
  • Initial public offerings
  • Private placements memorandums
  • Mergers and acquisitions
The Bonadio team is best known for its combination of practicing to the highest standards and taking a proactive approach with banking industry clients. Between Bonadio and their Moore Stephens North America member firms, they currently provide services to hundreds of financial institutions-including SEC registrants-ranging in size from de novo status to $24 billion in total assets.

For details, contact: Partner Jamie L. Keiser, CPA at
(315) 422-7109, jkeiser@bonadio.com or visit their
website at  www.bonadio.com 
 

 

. . .The  last time a Democrat succeeded a two-term member of his own party in the White House was 1836, when Martin Van Buren was elected to replace Andrew Jackson. Donald Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton Tuesday continues that status quo. As for Republicans, President George H.W. Bush successfully succeeded President Ronald Reagan by winning the 1988 election.




 


 
New York community banks play a key role in our state and local economies. Help spread the good news among your customers, business and elected leaders and media!

Click here for quotes from Governor Cuomo and DFS Superintendent Lawsky extolling the performance and value of New York community banks.

Click here for the full NYS Study on community banking.

Click here to read IBANYS President & CEO John Witkowski's comments on the new tax changes and benefits for New York community banks as approved in the 2014-15 State Budget.

 

Click here for IBANYS' letter to the Editor of Consumer Reports Magazine correcting failure to mention community banks as an alternative to using "big banks."

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John J. Witkowski
President and Chief Executive Officer
 
Stephen W. Rice
Director of Government Relations and Communications

Linda Gregware
Director of Administration and Membership Services 

William Y. Crowell, III
Legislative Counsel