View from CBA November 21, 2014

November 21, 2014

Which Elvis Are You?

It may seem like a silly question, but "Which Elvis are you?" Are you the new hip act with catchy songs and dancing no one has ever seen before, attracting fans across the globe? Or are you yesterday's news, relying on shiny jumpsuits and gold chains to distract from your lumbering presence? These are the questions banks must ask themselves in this time of unprecedented transformation. It was something I focused on in my presentation to attendees at U.S. Bank's Annual Banking Sector Executive Client Roundtable in Washington, D.C. this week. Among the CBA members at the event were past CBA Chairmen Richard Davis of U.S. Bank and Bob Kottler of IBERIABANK, as well as Eric Renner of First Commonwealth Bank and Robert Young of WesBanco.
 

New HFSC Subcommittee Chairs, Members Announced

The midterm election and retiring Members are reshaping the makeup of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee. Current Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) will remain, as expected, in their current roles. Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) will continue to chair the Subcommittee on Capital Markets even though he has fulfilled his term limit because the jurisdiction of that subcommittee has changed since he first took the gavel. Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-TX) will move over to chair the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit where all CFPB legislation will originate. Rep. Sean Duffy (WI), who is known for his colorful ways of questioning witnesses during testimony, will pick up where Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) left off at the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) will chair the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee and Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) takes the lead on the Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee.
 
In addition, new members joining the Committee from the GOP side of the aisle include: Reps. David Schweikert (IL), Roger Williams (TX), Scott Tipton (CO), Bob Dold (IL), Frank Guinta (NH), French Hill (a former banker from Arkansas), Mia Love (UT), and Bruce Poliquin (ME).
 
Also of note this week was the induction of five of the newly elected House Democrats to the New Dem Coalition – a group of business friendly, moderate Democrats. Rep. Ron Kind (WI) will chair the coalition in the 114th Congress and two members of the House Financial Services Committee – Reps Jim Himes (CT) and John Carney (DE) – will serve as Vice Chairs.
 

CBA Tackles Fraud at Dallas Summit

CBA continues to highlight the issue of cybersecurity, something our former Board Chairman Richard Davis rightly called "...a big damn deal." CBA's Regulatory Counsel Kate Larson spoke at the Information Security Media Group's November 18, 2014 Fraud Summit in Dallas. Participating in two panel discussions, Kate analyzed financial institutions' responses to a state of fraud survey and assessed the future of payment security, focusing on technology, policy, and liability. In her presentation, she addressed: data breaches effects on consumers; banks costs after the Target breach; financial breaches pale in comparison to other industries; the robust privacy standards that already govern the banking industry; mobile banking opportunities; security enhancements in mobile banking; emerging payment systems; and banking industry recommendations. Check out her interview leading up to the Summit, where she advocated for lawmakers support to payment security innovation and establish a national data breach standard.
 

Study: Millennials Want to Save Money, But Many Can Not

Bank of America partnered with USA Today to conduct a study on the money habits of millennials, aged 18-34. While many of the study's respondents said they had good financial habits, the majority are concerned with their financial well-being. In fact more than a third of them still receive some sort of financial support from their parents, and many more live paycheck-to-paycheck. They are very focused on paying off their debt, but lack the extra cash to save for a rainy day. According to the study, when they were asked what represents having financially "made it," 70% of Millennials said being able to afford anything, like travel and treating friends and family to things, was their definition of success; 40% said it was having a career that does good for others; while just 24% said it was rising to the top of their profession; and 15% said it was making a lot more money than their parents made.
 

Lagniappe

Former Federal Reserve Governor, and longtime GSRBM faculty member and co-creater of MarketSim,Betsy Duke is joining the board of Wells Fargo. She is set to join the board on January 1, 2015, and will serve on its risk committee. Betsy reports she will still be able to teach at GSRBM with this new position.
 
Southern California Lead Region President John Sotoodeh will head Wells Fargo's Southwest Region. He succeeds CBA Board Member Chip Carlisle, who announced his retirement earlier this year.