View from CBA February 22, 2013

February 22, 2013

CBA LIVE – Countdown to Phoenix

In just two weeks the CBA team will be in Phoenix preparing for CBA LIVE: The Future of Money, awaiting the arrival of a record number of bankers and industry partners. CBA's Board of Directors, Committees and Councils will all be in attendance and have been integral in making this event the largest gathering of retail banking professionals. CBA LIVE 2013 is guaranteed to leave you feeling inspired, connected and smarter for having been there. 

The content in our sessions goes right to the heart of the future of banking - from CFPB insight to how Millennials and mobile are transforming the industry. We will debate the future of the branch. We will learn how to fascinate. We will talk about solving the brain-drain in our industry and what it takes to be a banker of the year. I am preparing my questions for CFPB Acting Deputy Director Stephen Antonakeswho will share the latest on enforcement, supervision and fair lending. Email me if you have a question you would like me to ask. 

What else is awaiting you in Phoenix? Let me put it in numbers: 13 government officials representing six federal agencies, 71 banks, 76 exhibitors, 180 speakers, and 76 hours of programming across nine customized forums all packed into three days. Are you ready?  

The CFPB’s Four D's

This week we learned more about Director Cordray’s “Four D’s”. During a public meeting of the CFPB’s Consumer Advisory Board (CAB), he identified four broad categories where consumers need protection. He said they are:

  1. Deceptive and misleading marketing practices;
  2. Debt traps, where the product depends on consumers getting into cycles of debt;
  3. “Dead Ends” - structural road blocks, where the consumer cannot shop for the service provider (e.g. debt collection, mortgage servicing, private student loan servicing, and credit reporting); and
  4. Discrimination, including the application of disparate impact.

Dir. Cordray made his remarks at this meeting on Wednesday and by Thursday a story had been leaked to Bloomberg about the fourth D, citing anonymous sources that four banks had been put on notice about that fourth D - disparate impact. CBA continues to call for a level playing field.

Another CFPB item for your radar: It is likely Dir. Cordray's confirmation hearing will be held in the Senate Banking Committee in March. Stay tuned for updates.

CBA Education Abroad and at Home

When CBA committed to doubling down on educating the next generation of retail banking leaders, we meant it. Delivering an education program to help our banks develop their talent remains a core goal of our association and we are seeing success in ways we had not imagined. 

This past week, we brought In-Bank training to Dubai, under the leadership of GSRBM faculty member and past CBA Chair Doug Freeman along with CBA’s Mike Allen. Next week, the team will not need passports for their travels to San Antonio for In-Bank Training with Frost. The 2014 calendar is filling up so contact Mike Allen now to reserve your session.

Meanwhile, recruitment for the CBA/BAI Graduate School of Retail Banking Freshman class is underway for the July 21 - 31, 2013 session. The new catalog with course descriptions and application may be found on our website, along with profiles of students and faculty on why they value our banking school. We are committed to helping each of our members build their bank's potential. Contact Holly Braly if you have any questions.