Richard's Rapid Fire - June 30, 2017

Membership Spotlight: CBA Board Member Michael Cleary Named Co-President at Santander Bank           

A hearty congratulations to CBA Board Member Michael Cleary on being named co-president of Santander Bank, whose experience and expertise are invaluable to our organization. We wish Michael the best in expanded leadership role at the bank.

 

Dodd-Frank Reforms Pass House Subcommittee

Passing by voice vote, the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee moved a fiscal year 2018 funding bill, which includes several provisions reforming Dodd-Frank. We applaud the committee for including the following in the bill:

  • Removal of the CFPB’s UDAAP authority;
  • Repeal of CFPB’s authority to restrict arbitration;
  • Removal of CFPB’s authority to regulate small-dollar credit; and
  • Repeal Dodd-Frank's small business data collection requirement.

Next stop, the full House Appropriations Committee.

 

Around the Horn with CBA’s Mid-Tier Retail Executive Forum

CBA’s Mid-Tier Retail Executive Forum met in Washington, D.C. this week to tackle key issues facing the industry, such as sales practices, talent identification and retention, next generation banking, and FinTech. The discussion was informative, and I’m thankful Chris Flynn and Julian Grey from Black Knight Financial Services were able to speak with the group.

Here are my top takeaways from the meeting:

  • Attrition rates at banks are growing, particularly in entry-level positions;
  • Synthetic Fraud is increasingly affecting institutions;
  • Video teller solutions are rolling out slower than expected, as user adoption hasn’t proliferated;
  • Institutions continue to invest in digital efforts, automated branch operations, and developing ways to streamline account originations; and
  • The White House is very concerned about the $10 and $50 billion asset thresholds, as they feel financial institutions are avoiding crossing over them, entrenching banks and stifling growth.

Thank you Mid-Tier Chairman Nitin Mhatre of Webster Bank, Bob Kottler of IBERIABANK, Michael Jones of TCF Bank, Kevin Sakamoto of Bank of Hawaii, and Sean Simpson of Synovus for contributing to such an informative meeting.

Black Knight Financial Service's Chris Flynn and Julian Grey presenting to CBA's Mid-Tier Retail Executive Forum.

 

Clean Bill of Health for the Nation’s Top Banks

For the first time in the past seven years, all 34 of the nation’s largest banks successfully passed their annual stress tests, which found them financially strong enough to weather a financial crisis. With a clean bill of health, the Federal Reserve’s Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review stress test results show the banking industry is recovering well from the financial crisis and is poised to serve consumers for years to come.

 

The Results Are In On Private Student Loans

MeasureOne’s recent report on private student loans shows borrowers who received a loan from a bank successfully manage their student loans. With delinquency and default rates near historic lows, the private student loan market remains stable, strong, and well positioned for the future. Now, where banks have succeeded the federal government has failed. The Federal student loan program has seen exponentially higher default rates – boosting over a trillion dollars in student loan debt to boot. This is why CBA has been laser focused on helping federal student loan borrowers “Know Before They Owe” to help them understand the true cost of their loan.

 

Move Over Venmo, Zelle Has Made Its Debut

As far as innovations go, I am pounding the table on Zelle, a P2P payments app which partners with banks. Used by many of our nation’s largest banks, this new application is bound to make waves in the industry by helping countless consumes gain access to financial resources quicker. During June, the application will go live for 12 of its 30 partnering banks, and I cannot wait to see Zelle continue to grow and enhance the financial lives of American consumers.

 

How Chase is Using the Cloud to Increase Bank Efficiency

JPMorgan Chase is shifting control of heating, air-conditioning, and lighting in their 4,500 branches to an operations center hosted in an internet cloud. Speaking of the Bank’s decision, CBA Board Member Sol Gindi noted “to operate in the most efficient way, we have to be centralized and automated.” Not only will this decision reduce energy consumption by 15 percent, it will help bank employees focus less on administrative tasks and more on serving consumers. This is a win all around.

 

My Keynote at Treliant’s Mid-Year All Hands Meeting

I always appreciate the opportunity to share insights from Washington with CBA’s membership and sponsors. Yesterday, I joined CBA Diamond Sponsor Treliant’s Mid-Year All Hands Meeting to discuss the regulatory environment, upcoming agency appointments, and President Trump’s agenda.

Thank you to Scott Fisher, Joan Morgulec, Mark Olson, Andy Sandler, Lynn Woosley, Lyn Farrell, Ed Kramer, Melissa Pazornik, and the rest of the Treliant team for being such gracious hosts.

CBA's Richard Hunt with Scott Fisher of Treliant Risk Advisors and Andy Sandler of Buckley Sandler LLP at Treliant's Mid-Year All Hands Meeting.

 

Three Things to Know To Be in The Know

New Perk: A Day Off to Take Care of Your Financial Health

Federal student loan interest rates to rise Saturday

ATM reaches 50 years – how far we have come – what is next

 

Lagniappe

Karl-Georg Altenburg was named to Citi’s newly formed advisory board.

 

CBA's Paul Leventhal teaching BankCom to Wells Fargo employees. Schedule an OnSite program for your bank today.