Richard's Rapid Fire - October 30, 2015

October 30, 2015

M&A Activity Hits Highest Level Since Financial Crisis
M&A activity picked up this week with the announcement of two mergers. This morning, news broke pertaining to the merging of CBA member banks KeyCorp and First Niagara. This deal is valued at approximately $4.1 billion. Yesterday, New York Community Bancorp, Inc. announced it was acquiring Astoria Financial Corp. for $2.0 billion. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, "U.S. bank deal activity in 2015 hit the highest level since the financial crisis Thursday, when the announcement of New York Community Bancorp Inc.'s purchase of Astoria Financial Corp. brought the volume of deals in the sector to $28.4 billion for the year." Industry analysts attribute higher M&A activity among small and regional banks to the historically low interest rates and higher regulatory costs.
 
Three Committees Visit CBA Headquarters
It was a great week at CBA headquarters thanks to visits from three committees. We love seeing our members in person and offering them an opportunity to interact and engage together on issues important to retail banking. Here's a quick readout of the meetings:
 
Fair and Responsible Banking Committee | Members of CBA's Fair and Responsible Banking Committee met on Sunday and Monday to discuss recent redlining enforcement actions; managing consumer complaints; pre-testing fair lending and marketing models for disparate impact; limited English proficiency consumers and how to best communicate in absence of guidance; and challenges surrounding the new HMDA rule. Additionally, the group met with Steve Rosenbaum, Chief of Housing and Civil Enforcement at the U.S. Department of Justice to discuss several of these issues. Mr. Rosenbaum addressed concerns regarding recent enforcement actions and committee members' inquiries on how best to comply with often ambiguous or incomplete guidance. Wolters Kluwer Financial Services gave an overview on the new HMDA rule and outlined challenges associated with system implementation, employee training, and analysis.
 
Community Reinvestment Committee | On Monday and Tuesday, CBA's Community Reinvestment Committee talked through CRA Downgrades, delayed performance exams and the branch transformation as well as concerns in UDAAP and Fair lending violations. The Committee welcomed three regulators: Theresa Stark with the Federal Reserve Board; Surge Sen with the FDIC; and Bobbie Kennedy of the OCC. Members also discussed the status of the proposed Q&A, branch consolidation, the new HMDA rules, and the impact of small business loans. The 2016 Joe Belew Award topic, financial inclusion, was unveiled with applications now being accepted through January 6, 2016.
 
Education Funding Committee | Wrapping up the eventful week, on Wednesday and Thursday the Education Funding Committee met, spending all day Wednesday with staff on Capitol Hill discussing next steps with the Higher Education Act Reauthorization. On Thursday morning, the Committee held its in-person meeting and hosted the CFPB's Acting Student Loan Ombudsman, Seth Frotman, to discuss the latest CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman Report, among other servicing and compliant issues. As the 2016 presidential race heats up, student lending looks to be a key issue. The Committee looks forward to taking campaigns to school.

CBA's Fair & Responsible Banking Committee meeting in Washington, D.C. 
October, 26, 2015

CBA's Community Reinvestment Committee Meeting in Washington, D.C.
October 27, 2015

CBA's Education Funding Committee Meeting at CBA Headquarters.
October 29, 2015

SunTrust Bank team members in Atlanta during their CBA OnSite Education Session.
October 29, 2015

 
The General Leads the CBA LIVE General Session Lineup
Gen. Stan McChrystal will kick off our first general session at CBA LIVE 2016: Leadership unplugged, taking place March 7-9 in Phoenix. A four-star warfare revolutionary, Gen. McChrystal radically transformed how the U.S. military's most elite elements operated during a fast-paced, information age war, and unlocked the adaptability these groups needed to win. Learn how your organization can bust silos, handle constant change and battle customer insurgency. Register by December 18, 2015 to take advantage of our early bird rates.
 
Visiting Our Partners
This week, I traveled to Miami, FL to take part in premier sponsor Fiserv's Executive Lending Council meeting where I spoke with some of Fiserv's top clients about retail banking trends and the biggest issues facing our members. The attendees spent time discussing the state of the lending business, cybersecurity, auto lending and vendor management. Thanks to Terri Gillespie and the Fiserv team for inviting me to participate!
 
Three Things to Know to Be In the Know
Warren, Cordray Talk Presidential Politics, Post Office Banking
U.S. Government Uses Race Test for $80 Million in Payments
If Angela Merkel is ousted, Europe will unravel
 
Lagniappe
CBA's Jeannie Bunton has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Communications and Marketing, Chief of Staff.