Week of March 25

March 25, 2019

In This Issue…

• Marijuana banking bill marked up today
• OBA 2020 Views & Vistas Photo Contest accepting submissions
• OBA Bankers’ Night Out programs begin this week
• 2019 OBA Professional Member college scholarship available
• OBA education corner …

Marijuana banking bill marked up today

Today, the House Financial Services Committee is in the process of marking up H.R. 1595, the SAFE Banking Act of 2019. Reps. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) and Denny Heck (D-Wash.) introduced the bipartisan bill along with Reps. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) and Warren Davidson (R-Ohio).

There are currently 138 co-sponsors of the bill, but none from Oklahoma.

Importantly, the bill would make it illegal for a federal regulator to penalize an institution that accepts insured deposits from marijuana businesses, but only in states where the substance is legal. Short of “legalizing” the drug itself, the “safe harbor” created by H.R. 1595 is what it will take for banks (and credit unions) to be able to “bank” all of the various aspects of the marijuana businesses that are opening their doors across the state. It will directly enable them to cure the existing public safety hazard that exists today.

“It’s not just the direct, marijuana-related businesses that impact the process – growing, transporting, selling – that are currently illegal,” OBA president and CEO Roger Beverage said. “It’s the ancillary businesses: The landlord where the dispensary is located; the plumber who installs and repairs the bathroom or the water supply; or the electrician who examines the dispensary and makes certain its electric system is up to speed – all are affected by the new law. That’s where we are today, and that’s nuts.

“When you explain how current law operates and the legal traps that exist for anyone associated with the drug in some manner, most of the people I have talked to believe it’s necessary to find a path forward through existing federal law, and especially the Controlled Substances Act. That’s all this bill does. It creates a way forward so we can remove some of the practical concerns Oklahoma law has created. It says nothing about ‘legalizing’ marijuana itself.

“I think that’s what was done in decriminalizing the activities related to the use of morphine at one point. The OBA is neither for or against legalizing the drug at the federal level. That’s not the issue. This bill replaces the ‘all-cash’ business with a process to allow banks and credit unions to offer various financial services to all of these kinds of businesses.

“An overwhelming majority of Oklahomans said last June, ‘We want to authorize the use of medical marijuana in our state, as well as the ancillary businesses related to it.’ This bill directs FinCEN and the federal banking regulators through the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council to issue guidance and exam procedures for banks doing business with cannabis-related legitimate businesses so they can know and understand what’s authorized and what’s not.”

OBA 2020 Views & Vistas Photo Contest accepting submissions

The Oklahoma Bankers Association is proud to offer again the customized calendar, “Oklahoma Views & Vistas” from photographs of Oklahoma submitted by Oklahoma bankers and their family members and board of directors and their family members.

These calendars will be sold exclusively to banks across the state of Oklahoma for bankers to give to their customers to enjoy all year long!

If you or a family member is an amateur photographer and would like the opportunity to have your creativity displayed in homes and businesses across Oklahoma, the OBA has a great opportunity for you! So send us your photos of farms, barns, agricultural activities, historical Oklahoma locations, county fairs, carnivals, parades or festivals, fall colors, winter snowfalls, spring flowers or summer fun; any photo that shows the history and beauty of the great state of Oklahoma.

The deadline to submit photos is March 29: Friday of this week! All photos submitted will be scored by a panel of judges. The top scoring photos will be featured in the 2020 Views & Vistas calendar!

Click here for more information and the registration form.

OBA Bankers’ Night Out programs begin this week

The dates for the OBA Bankers’ Night Out programs have been finalized. Mark your calendar for the date of the program that’s in your area of the state and plan to attend. Bring your coworkers with you so that everyone can be up to speed on topics affecting their job. In addition to state and federal legislative updates, the program will include a discussion on the recent developments regarding hemp.

As in the past, the schedule for each of these meetings is:

5:30 p.m. – Drinks
6:15 p.m. – Program
7 p.m. – Dinner

PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. The cost is $50 per person. Click here for a registration form.

Locations and dates for this year’s events are:

Lawton, March 26.
Tulsa, March 27.
Oklahoma City, April 17.
Krebs, April 18.
Enid, April 23.
Guymon, April 25.

2019 OBA Professional Member college scholarship available

Each year, the Oklahoma Bankers Association awards a $1,000 scholarship to an incoming freshman who has a parent, grandparent, sibling or spouse who is a Professional Member of the Association. The student must enroll in an accredited Oklahoma institution of higher education. The applicant must also be graduating from an Oklahoma high school. A panel of bankers will select the winning applicant.

Click here for the application for the 2019 scholarship application. Applications are due May 1, 2019.

Anyone interested in becoming a Professional Member of the Association should contact Megan McGuire at our office at 405-424-5252 or by e-mail at megan@oba.com.

OBA education corner …

Spring break has passed and its starting to look beautiful outside … if you’re not too busy sneezing! If you need a break from your allergies, OBA education events are the way to go! Take note of the following:

2019 BSA/AML Seminars, April 3-Tulsa; April 4-Oklahoma City — This seminar highlights the increased federal expectations for BSA.
Successful Workout Strategies for Problem Loans, April 4, webinar — This webinar is designed to provide the participant with a disciplined strategy for approaching the loan when it reaches the workout situation.
Mapping Multi-Tiered Business Accounts with New CDD, April 4, webinar — This program will focus on different structures and common errors. When is an account a “dba” and when is it disregarded? When is it an agent and when is it a sole proprietorship? There are many mistakes made by financial institutions because of lack of understanding of business structures.
IRA Death Payments to Beneficiaries, April 5, webinar — In this two hour webinar, we will focus on the answers to these questions in a nice, detailed format with examples and handouts to help facilitate your beneficiary payouts when an IRA owner dies.
Lending to Municipalities, April 8, webinar — This webinar has been developed for banks and bankers who are aware of opportunities to serve their community through credit services to municipalities and other local government or quasi-governmental organizations (i.e. volunteer fire departments, emergency health care providers, political subdivisions, etc.). Extending credit to municipal entities requires legal, tax, accounting and credit knowledge and analysis that can be quite different from conventional commercial lending decisions.
Marketing & Advertising Compliance, April 10, webinar — What can you say in advertisements? What must you say? What can you not say? Many sets of rules govern these questions, and more are on the way. How about your promotional efforts – contacting prospects and customers to let them know what you have available?
UCC 3 & 4 and Other Legal Check Issues, April 10, webinar — Understanding endorsements and handling checks is crucial to making sound check cashing decisions.
Reg E Compliance: Five Best Practices for Handling Disputes, April 11, webinar — Our topic for the webinar will focus on several simple steps to handle Reg E customer disputes and inquiries.
Excel Explained: Creating Interactive Spreadsheets, April 12, webinar — When you attend this live presentation, you’ll learn from Excel expert David Ringstrom, CPA, how to implement multiple techniques to create spreadsheets that are interactive, accurate and user friendly.
Commercial & Business Lending Basics for Support Personnel, April 15, webinar — This seminar is designed to take the “mystery” out of the commercial lending process and the confusing terminology often used by lenders.
Flood Insurance Compliance, April 16, webinar — This webinar will cover the latest requirements, guidance, best practices and compliance hot spots
Basic New Accounts, April 16-Oklahoma City; April 17-Tulsa — This program will provide an overview of state law requirements in the area of new accounts, plus federal requirements for beneficial ownership, disclosures, basic TIN compliance, CIP, anti-money laundering and deposit insurance.
Regulation O: Lending to Insiders, April 17, webinar — This program provides the information needed by the lending, compliance and audit staff to assure ongoing compliance with the regulation.
2019 Spring HR Seminar, April 18, Oklahoma City — This seminar will explore some of the new processes that technology can provide to help reduce the time human resource managers spend on day-to-day activities and focus more on the big issues they are confronted with.
Escrow Accounts Compliance, April 18, webinar — Join us for a two-hour webinar on Escrow Accounts to get a clear understanding of how to set up and maintain compliant escrow accounts. This webinar will cover the latest requirements, guidance, best practices and compliance hot spots.
Bank Directors Training, April 23, Oklahoma City — Not only will this seminar help your directors become more knowledgeable, it will be viewed favorably by regulators, stockholders and underwriters.
2019 Advanced Commercial Lending C&I Lending Seminar, May 8-10, Oklahoma City — This three-part series (which can be registered for one, two or all three days) is a must for commercial lenders, credit analysts, relationship managers and credit administrators.

Additionally, the OBA is proud to promote the recognition of bankers who have devoted 50 or more years of service to the banking industry. All eligible nominees will be honored at the 2019 OBA Convention on May 20-22 at the Edmond Convention Center and Hilton Garden Inn in Edmond. Click here to download a nomination form. If you have any questions, please contact Janis Reeser at 405-424-5252 or janis@oba.com.

Also, NOW is the time to get involved in your Association, and one good way to accomplish this is to join one of our committees! We are now taking names for those interested in our committees for the 2019-2020 year. Click here to download an interest form!

Finally, the Bank Trainers Conference and Expo, hosted by BankerTrainers.com, is set for May in Atlanta. It is an annual educational event that brings together hundreds of training professionals, representing financial institutions from across the country and beyond. A wide variety of workshops cover everything from eLearning to presentation skills and managing change. Click here for more information.