June 25, 2014
Masthead 2

 
Contents:
Subcommittee on Livestock, Rural Development and Credit Hears Testimony
GE Capital to Pay $225 Million
NE Bank Branch President Demonstrates True Heroism
Community Bank Business Lending on PBS NewsHour


Crowe-Horwath



A Bank's Private Cloud




6 Bridges




Harland Clarke


Travelers


 
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Real Community Bank
Subcommittee on Livestock, Rural Development and Credit Hears Testimony  
Today, Sean Williams, president and CEO of the First National  Bank of Wynne, AR., will testify before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Rural Development and Credit.

ICBA's testimony will focus on how community banks serve rural America, factors influencing agricultural and rural credit markets, reports from various Federal Reserve district banks on ag credit conditions.

Williams also will discuss the results of a recent ICBA survey of its Agriculture-Rural America subcommittee. The survey reflects community banker views on the farm bill, crop insurance and the Farm Credit System, particularly how the FCS is abusing its government-sponsored enterprise charter and targeting the best community bank customers.

The hearing starts at 10 a.m. (Eastern time).
GE Capital to Pay $225 Million 
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is ordering GE Capital Retail Bank (GE Capital), now known as Synchrony Bank, to provide an estimated $225 million in relief to consumers harmed by illegal and discriminatory credit card practices.

GE Capital must refund $56 million to approximately 638,000 consumers who were subjected to deceptive marketing practices. As part of the joint enforcement action by the CFPB and Department of Justice, GE Capital must also provide an additional $169 million to about 108,000 borrowers excluded from debt relief offers because of their national origin. This order represents the federal government's largest credit card discrimination settlement in history.

Read the entire Order here.  
NE Bank Branch President Demonstrates True Heroism
Midwest Bank branch president Gene Willer was willing to sacrifice his own life to save his staff when an EF4 tornado ripped through their town of Pilger, Neb., on Monday. Willers knew that he and his employees could probably shelter safely during the storm in the bank's concrete and steel vault, which can only be made safe for those inside by a lock on the outside. Willers, the branch's de facto father figure to a close-knit staff, decided to stay outside and lock the vault to ensure his colleagues remained safe.

The tornado sheared off an entire wall of the bank, but thankfully Willers and his co-workers were unharmed. For Willers, the decision to risk his own life to save his employees was an easy one: "We're like a family and I'm the president and I take care of my family. That's all there is to it."
Community Bank Business Lending on PBS NewsHour
ICBA explained the role of community banks in small-business lending on the PBS NewsHour.

In the segment, ICBA Executive Vice President of Congressional Relations and Chief Economist Paul Merski said community banks specialize in small-business lending because they are local, relationship lenders. Knowing the local market helps ensure better lending decisions and rates that are favorable for small-business owners, Merski said.

The segment follows a recent Washington Business Journal interview with ICBA President and CEO Cam Fine on the need for tiered banking regulation.  

Watch the Segment.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Thursday, July 24, 2014