Weekly Update

Greetings from Guy By Guy Sims OBA Chairman From a banking standpoint, things are quiet in Washington – not only because of the August recess but also because the banking agenda is far down the list of priorities for the administration and Congress at this point.  Somehow, we need to come up with a strategy to get our issues back …

Greetings from Guy By Guy Sims OBA Chairman At the convention this spring, I was optimistic the community banking industry would be on offense by this point pushing for common-sense regulatory reform in Washington D.C.  As it stands today, we’re not even on the field with our issues.   The congressional calendar is full for the foreseeable future. Raising the …

Greetings from Guy By Guy Sims OBA Chairman Editor’s Note: Guy is out of town this week and will be back with his chairman update next week. In the meantime, however, enjoy a couple of photos he shared from his motorcycle trip to Sturgis during the past week! Back to top   Operation Choke Point: to be or not to …

Greetings from Guy By Guy Sims OBA Chairman The White House was relatively quiet this past week: No berating the administration’s own attorney general, no red meat political speech to the Boy Scouts of America, relatively few early morning tweets and no major staff shake-ups. I would call this a calm week by President Trumps standards.  I have to think the …

Greetings from Guy By Guy Sims OBA Chairman I spent last week attending the ABA’s Summer Leadership Meeting in Boston. The meeting provided a great opportunity to network with other bankers from across the country as well as gain additional insight into what is going on in Washington, D.C.  On the regulatory reform front, it appears work is going on …

Congressional GOP: pursuing vote to overturn arbitration rule Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued its Final Rule that, in essence, prohibits banks and other lenders from using mandatory arbitration clauses in their lending and other documents.   “That’s the bad news,” OBA President and CEO Roger Beverage said.  “The good news is that congressional Republicans are poised to use …

Greetings from Guy By Guy Sims OBA Chairman Developing the next generation of bankers is one of the biggest challenges many of us face in our banks. Technical training, practical experience and a broad view of the banking landscape is important in developing quality bankers that will lead our banks in the future.  Our board, both at my bank and …

Greetings from Guy By Guy Sims OBA Chairman While the health care debate is taking up all of the oxygen in Washington, the next item on the agenda for the Republican congress is tax reform.  The plan is to have the framework hammered out by September and have a bill passed and signed by year-end. The house has been working …

Greetings from Guy By Guy Sims OBA Chairman Washington provided plenty of drama last week both political and personal. I would like to spend a few minutes discussing the horrific shooting at the congressional baseball game practice.  While the political rhetoric has been red hot for an extended period, it took this terrible event to produce some civility among our …