View from CBA March 22, 2013

CBA LIVE 2013 Takeaways 

I left Phoenix smarter, more inspired and more connected to our industry. Many of our sessions were standing-room only – next year, we’ll have more chairs! Among my top takeaways: Millennials are the largest living generation; bankers are fascinating; branches may only need pruning to encourage new growth – but they are not dead at all; and we are more focused than ever on putting the customer first. The highlight of my Q&A with the Acting Deputy Director of the CFPB: Steve Antonakes said banks should push back when the agency requests information if it is not clear about the intent. 

Thanks to those of you who have shared your thoughts on the event. I encourage each of you to complete our CBA LIVE survey or email us with comments and suggestions. We are looking forward to CBA LIVE 2014 in Washington, DC, March 31 - April 2. 

Director Cordray

Having moved out of the Senate Banking Committee in a party-line vote Tuesday, the Senate majority leader plans to take the Director’s nomination to the floor after Easter, where we believe the nomination will fail. CBA continues to call for a structure that stands the test of time. See the GR update below for further analysis. 

Focus on Small Business Lending

The Small Business Administration reported welcome news this week saying small business lending is up for first time in 10 quarters. Data shows lending at $586 billion, a 0.4 percent increase between September and December 2012. This is a result of eased lending standards and terms for commercial, industrial and commercial real estate loans. Despite this, terms for commercial real estate loans have remained tight. Read about the top 10 banks leading the charge - nearly all CBA members. 

Prediction on Overdraft Legislation 

See our GR update below for news about Congresswoman Maloney's legislation to regulate overdraft practices. This is not the first time this legislation has been introduced and we do not expect it to garner any more traction than it has in the past. Stay tuned.

CBA Leadership

CBA welcomes Shane Clanton, Senior Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary, BBVA Compass, to our Board of Directors. We look forward to working with him. I am also pleased to announce Matt Wind of Comerica is our new Vice Chair of the Deposits and Payments Committee. 

Membership Visit 

This week, I travelled to Boston to discuss the state of the industry and with CBA Board Member Brad Conner and more than 400 members of the Citizens Financial team. This was a great opportunity to share some of my takeaways from CBA LIVE and provide an update on the status of retail banking. 

Last week after CBA LIVE, I traveled to San Diego for Source Media's "Best Practices in Retail Financial Services Symposium" where I moderated a panel on the future of the retail bank with CBA Board members Andy Harmening and Cathy Nash. This followed a presentation on the bank branch by CBA Board Member Ryan McInerney.