CBAI s 31 st Annual Call on Washington Progress on Several Fronts! April 30, 2013

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1 CBAI s 31 st Annual Call on Washington Progress on Several Fronts! April 30, 2013 Nearly 50 community bankers from across Illinois, together with spouses and welcomed guests, participated in CBAI s 31 st Annual Call on Washington held on April 23-26, The CBAI delegation met with their Members of Congress and federal regulators to discuss key legislative and regulatory issues of importance to Illinois community banks. Again this year our Call on Washington coincided with the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) Washington Policy Summit, which included more than 700 community bankers from across the country. On Tuesday evening, CBAI members gathered for our traditional Welcome Dinner which was held at the Lebanese Taverna in the Woodley Park neighborhood of Washington, D.C. near the historic Omni Shoreham Hotel (Please see the Welcome Dinner pictorial at the end of this article.) On Wednesday morning, ICBA President Cam Fine highlighted the premier issue facing community banks and our nation s economy ending too-big-to-fail. There is now growing bipartisan support for resolving too-big-to-fail among distinguished thought-leaders within financial services and Congress. This chorus of concern has been fueled by not only the taxpayer-funded bailouts of the mega banks but also by their numerous and egregious misdeeds. Later that day U. S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and David Vitter (R-LA) introduced the Terminating Bailouts for Taxpayer Fairness Act. The TBTF Act (S.798) would significantly reduce the threats posed by too-big-to-fail financial institutions and also provide much needed regulatory relief to community banks. ICBA Chairman William Loving applauded Senators Brown and Vitter for advancing the debate and said, By imposing equity capital guidelines that are appropriately scaled to the size, scope and risk of the too-big-to-fail institutions, this legislation will reduce systemic risk, protect taxpayers and put our nation s community banks on a competitive playing field. On Thursday, several CBAI members attended the Illinois Constituents Coffee hosted by Senator Durbin wherein he noted the importance of community banks. Senator Durbin also expressed his support for S. 798 and agreed to serve as a co-sponsor of the measure. CBAI expressed sincere thanks to him for his taking a leadership position on this important legislation. Pictured left to right Matt Burcham (Community Trust Bank, Irvington); Shawn Davis (CNB Bank & Trust, N.A., Carlinville); Dax Garrison (Community Trust Bank, Irvington); Sheila Burcham (Community Trust Bank, Irvington); Tom Marantz (Bank of Springfield); Ty Orr (Community Trust Bank, Irvington); Senator Richard Durbin; David Schroeder (CBAI); Jason Knoedler (Bank of Springfield); Bobby Field (The Farmers Bank of Liberty); Mark Field (The Farmers Bank of Liberty)

2 Again this year, CBAI bankers and staff visited with every office of the 20-member Illinois Congressional delegation and delivered CBAI s 2013 Federal Policy Priorities. Particularly important among our priorities were the following: Addressing and resolving the issue of too-big-to-fail (TBTF) banks and financial firms CBAI members urged the continued reform of our financial system to significantly reduce the probability and severity of a future financial crisis. The taxpayer bailout of big banks and financial firms must never happen again! No TBTF bank, its directors, officers, or employees should ever be too-big-to-manage, too-big-to-regulate, too-bigto-fail, too-big-to-prosecute, too-big-to-jail, and should certainly not be too-big-to-change. They must be downsized. Pictured left to right Tom Marantz (Bank of Springfield); Bob Wingert (CBAI); Jim Dingman (BankORION); David Feldhaus (FHLB-Chicago); Bill Wubben (Apple River State Bank); Ken Edl (Diamond Bank, FSB, Schaumburg); Mike Kelley (CBAI); Congressman Randy Hultgren; Martin Rowe (Legence Bank, Eldorado); Mary Sulser (Buena Vista National Bank, Chester); Kathy Cook (The Village Bank, St. Libory); Kevin Beckemeyer (Legence Bank, Eldorado) Regulatory relief contained in ICBA s Plan for Prosperity The steady increase in regulations over many decades threatens community banks and their communities. CBAI members support the ICBA s Plan for Prosperity, a policy platform for the 113 th Congress that promotes a regulatory environment in which community banks can thrive and lend more robustly to small businesses and residents, thereby helping their communities grow and thrive. Pictured left to right David Feldhaus (FHLB-Chicago); Jim Dingman (BankORION); Tom Marantz (Bank of Springfield); Congressman Mike Quigley; Bill Wubben (Apple River State Bank); Kraig Lounsberry (CBAI)

3 Tiered regulation for community banks CBAI members support tiered regulations for community banks. The financial crisis clearly demonstrated that the material risks of Wall Street mega banks are very different from those of community banks, and they should not be treated the same way. The Dodd Frank Reform Act laid out a plan for applying separate supervision, capital, and liquidity requirements for the financial behemoths. In the Act, and sparingly elsewhere, tiered regulation has established a welcomed and necessary beachhead. Now it is time to broaden that beachhead and ensure that every new banking law, rule and regulation clearly distinguishes and appropriately regulates community banks. Pictured left to right - Bobby Field (The Farmers Bank of Liberty); Ken Edl (Diamond Bank, FSB, Schaumburg); Mark Field (The Farmers Bank of Liberty); Bill Wubben (Apple River State Bank); Congresswoman Cheri Bustos; Jim Dingman (BankORION); Jason Knoedler (Bank of Springfield); Tom Marantz (Bank of Springfield); Bob Wingert (CBAI) An exemption for community banks from Basel III CBAI was extremely disappointed when the regulators proposed rules that would impose new capital and risk-weight requirements on community banks. These proposed new rules are not required under the Basel III capital agreement. Basel III was originally designed to prevent another financial crisis and to only apply to the largest banks that take on greater risk and are highly interconnected on a global scale. Community banks did not engage in the reckless behavior that caused the financial crisis and subsequent recession. They have lower risk profiles because they operate under a relationship-based business model. Their less complex business model and independence are not appropriate for the one-size-fits-all approach to the capital standards and asset risk-weighs in the Basel III proposed rules. Individual community banks pose no systemic risk whatsoever. Therefore, these new proposed requirements should not apply to community banks.

4 Pictured left to right Kraig Lounsberry (CBAI); Greg Ohlendorf (First Community Bank and Trust, Beecher); Congressman Bill Foster; Mitch Borneman (Heritage Bank of Central Illinois, Trivoli); Gerry Johnson (Grand Ridge National Bank); Kim McKee (North Central Bank, Hennepin) Opposition to expanded powers for tax-exempt credit unions The original credit union model has become outdated as credit unions have long since strayed from their founding purpose of serving individuals of modest means and with a common bond. Their federal taxexempt status, in exchange for serving their original mission, is clearly no longer justified. Their tax subsidy should be eliminated and they should all pay their fair share. Credit unions are seeking to expand their commercial lending powers by increasing the percentage of assets cap on member business lending (H.R. 688). If authorized, any growth will likely come at the expense of tax-paying community banks. In addition, credit unions are seeking to raise capital from outside investors (H.R. 719), discarding their longstanding reliance on retained earnings. This change would fundamentally alter the exclusive member-focused character of credit unions a condition for their original tax exemption. Credit unions should not be granted these or any additional powers as long as they remain exempt from taxation. Pictured left to right Mitch Borneman (Heritage Bank of Central Illinois, Trivoli); Congresswoman Robin Kelly; Greg Ohlendorf (First Community Bank and Trust, Beecher); Kraig Lounsberry (CBAI)

5 Opposition to expanding the Farm Credit System (FCS) CBAI opposes the expansionist agenda of the Farm Credit System which would allow FCS lenders to become the equivalent of commercial banks while retaining their Government Sponsored Enterprise (GSE) status. The FCS s funding advantage as a GSE constitutes an unfair competitive advantage over rural community banks. The FCS should follow its historical mission of serving bona fide farmers, ranchers, and young, beginning and small farmers and their farmer-owned cooperatives. If it chooses not to follow this mission, it should be subject to taxation. On Wednesday and Thursday CBAI members attended presentations by House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Senator David Vitter (R-LA), and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in addition to meetings with the various federal regulators including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Federal Reserve Bank, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency. These meetings gave our members the opportunity to discuss key issues and concerns with their regulators. The Call on Washington concluded on Thursday evening with an ICBA-sponsored reception and dinner. Entertainment was provided by The Capitol Steps. Ken Edl, Executive Vice President of Diamond Bank, FSB in Schaumburg, and first time attendee of the Call on Washington said, "Being involved with the CBAI's call on Washington was truly a unique experience on different levels. The ability to see how our country's law making process works first hand, provided me with an even greater appreciation for how our country's citizens can have a voice on matters which may be important to them. More importantly though, the ability to work with the CBAI to discuss with our representatives the issues we as community bankers are passionate about proved to be even more rewarding. With the CBAI's guidance, our message was informed, united and communicated clearly. I felt by the conclusion of the event, we as community bankers made a difference which will help provide greater opportunities for not only our own individual institutions but for our customers and communities as well. I would highly recommend other Bank officers and directors attend the Call next year to continue to make a positive impact on community banking." Participation in CBAI s lobbying events in Washington, D.C. and Springfield, and other grass-roots lobbying activities, are vital to maintaining the survival of a vibrant community banking profession and the franchise value of your community bank. If you have not participated in these events in the past, now is the time to get involved and make a difference. Welcome Dinner Pictorial See Below

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