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2007 Chairman’s Cup a Success!
Thank you to all who attended the 2007 Chairman’s Cup Golf Outing! The weather was beautiful and 180 golfers were on hand to enjoy a great day of golf. A special thank you to all golfers and sponsors for helping to make it a great day. We hope to see you at next year’s event at the Harvester!
Pictures: Winners (Cutline: The Winning Team: Steve Hicks, MidwestOne Bank, Oskaloosa; Tom Campbell, MidwestOne Bank, Oskaloosa; Becky Picard, Quad City Bancard; Dennis Busta, MidwestOne Bank, Oskaloosa; and John Pothoven, MidwestOne Bank, Oskaloosa.)
Sponsors
Bank On Hold
Bankers’ Bank
Bankers Trust
Bank Financial Services Group
Chubb Group of Insurance Companies
Clark Consulting
Data Business Equipment, Inc.
Dougherty & Company, LLC
ECI Web Equity Manager
Federal Home Loan Bank of DSM
First National Capital Markets
FISERV
i_Tech Corporation
Kirk Gross Company
LaSalle Bank, N.A.
LockNET, Inc.
Marshall Group
Midwest Banking Careers
Midwest Independent Bank
Quad City Bancard
Quad City Bank & Trust
Ruan Securities Corporation
SHAZAM, Inc.
Storey Kenworthy
T8Financial
Turnkey Associates, LC
U.S. Bank
UMB Bank
Wells Fargo Bank
Federal Reserve Event Postponed
The Federal Reserve Bank has postponed the event originally scheduled for August 16 due to scheduling conflicts. A new date has not been set. Contact the Federal Reserve’s Barbara Agan at 515.241.1468 or email barbara.agan@chi.frb.org for more information.
Federal Reserve Announces Changes
The Federal Reserve Banks has announced changes to their check operations as consumers and businesses continue the shift from using paper checks toward electronic payments. The Federal Reserve Banks have selected Philadelphia, Cleveland, Atlanta and Dallas as regional check processing sites that are expected to provide the full range of check processing services through 2011.
Other remaining sites will have their operations scaled back. These scaled-back sites will all print substitute checks, but some will also capture paper checks.
Since 2003, the Reserve Banks have reduced the locations where they process checks from 45 to 22, with one other site (Nashville) scheduled to discontinue operations this summer. Three other sites previously scheduled to discontinue check operations (Helena, San Francisco and Kansas City) will remain as print-only sites.
IBA Sponsors “Renewable on Parade”
Become part of one of the premier renewable energy events of 2007. Attendees will obtain a comprehensive perspective about biofuels, alternative energy (solar, wind, geothermal) and fuel cell technologies. Renewable on Parade will feature over a hundred exhibitors, sixty speakers, invaluable networking opportunities and between 5,000 and 10,000 attendees. Mark your calendar for September 20-23 at the Riverside Casino & Golf Resort, in Riverside, Iowa.
Session topics will cover a variety of energy applications. This will be a unique opportunity that brings together individuals and organizations that are implementing many of these renewable energy solutions in Iowa and across the country. Attendees will obtain a better understanding of how we can best deal with the challenges of integrating petroleum-based energy with renewable energy.
Visit www.renewableonparade.com for more information or to register.
2007 State Fair Steer Selected
The IBA is pleased to announce that a calf for the 2007 Governor’s Charity Steer Show at the Iowa State Fair has been selected!
The steer will be shown by owner Sarah Feiges, Sioux City, along with celebrity handler, Mark Pearson of WHO-AM Radio.
Join us at the 2007 Iowa State Fair! The Charity Steer Show will start at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 11 in the Pioneer Pavilion on the Fairgrounds.
All proceeds from the 25th Annual Show will support the Ronald McDonald Houses of Des Moines, Iowa City and Sioux City. Last year, the IBA steer brought $4,000 at auction; the entire show raised $95,800 for the charity.
Predatory Lending: An In Depth Look
The following is the third in a series of articles to be published in the Exchange this summer highlighting important state issues to be discussed in depth at the 2007 Legislative Policy Symposium at the IBA annual Convention.
The Iowa Attorney General offered two pieces of legislation in the 2007 session that got the attention of the banking industry. Both issues were well intended and aimed at helping consumers. However, in the final analysis, the proposals had unintended consequences that were more hurtful than helpful to the majority of Iowans seeking to enter into business agreements
Private Cause of Action
SF 520, would have allowed consumers to sue for violations of the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act. Under current law, only the Attorney General can bring actions under this act.
Iowa purportedly is the only state in the nation which does not allow consumers a private right to sue under its consumer fraud laws although they can sue under various other statutes and common law. The Iowa Attorney General supports consumers suing under the Consumer Fraud Act because the burden of proof is much lower which is why the bill was vigorously opposed by the business community.
During negotiations in the Senate over the language in the bill, the bill sponsor offered an IBA amendment to exclude deposit taking financial institutions from the provisions of the bill. The amendment did not however exempt the subsidiaries and affiliates of those institutions.
At issue with many of the business groups that opposed the bill was the lack of any intent requirement for the plaintiff consumer to prove fraud, and the contention that this could lead to frivolous claims by consumers who could then also be awarded attorney fees. The IBA expects this to be a hotly contested issue again next session and will continue working toward exempting financial institutions.
Predatory Lending
Similar to the aforementioned bill, was a proposal SF 541 that would have given consumers the right to sue mortgage lenders under the Consumer Fraud Act. Again, a much lower burden of proof required and individuals could bring suit on their own rather than the Attorney General bringing suit on their behalf.
The IBA opposed the bill in its original form because it was very broad, applied to all lenders and would have been very difficult if not impossible to comply with and document. The bill was amended during Senate debate with an IBA supported amendment that targeted several specified areas of mortgage fraud conducted by mortgage brokers and mortgage bankers. As amended by the Senate, the bill created a private cause of action allowing consumers to sue for such violations as:
1. Knowingly misrepresenting a borrower’s credit rating;
2. Knowingly misrepresenting income or assets in a application for a home loan;
3. Knowingly concealing material facts or making false promises to induce a borrower to enter into a home loan;
4. Knowingly engaging in any other practice not in good faith which constitutes a fraud on any person.
The IBA was also successful in passing an amendment that: 1) exempted depository institutions and their subsidiaries and affiliates from the provisions of the bill, 2) indemnified subsequent purchasers from liability, so as not to create any adverse effects on the secondary mortgage market, and 3) eliminated a tax on all home buyers that would have gone into a fund that the Attorney General could use to sue lenders.
With the amendments adopted, the IBA supported the bill as did the mortgage bankers and brokers but it was never debated by the House. In the bill’s current form, it should give consumers an additional tool in fighting actual fraudulent practices in the mortgage industry without eliminating any legitimate products offered by legitimate mortgage lenders.
Enforcement
The IBA has long argued that predatory lending is not a result of a lack of laws on the books but rather a lack of enforcement against non-depository taking lenders. In 2004, the IBA along with the mortgage banking industry was successful in passing legislation giving the Finance Bureau of the Iowa Division of Banking the authority to license and audit mortgage bankers and brokers. The Division has since begun that process. This authority will do far more to clean up the industry than simply putting additional laws on the books. There are currently 5500 mortgage banker and broker licensees in Iowa so the process will take time but the structure is now in place to deal with the enforcement problem.
Congratulations to the Iowa School of Banking
Congratulations to all the attendees and graduates who completed the 2007 Iowa School of Banking held June 10-15, 2007, at the Cedar Rapids Marriott Hotel in Cedar Rapids.
The first and second year classes run concurrently. The first year students develop a thorough understanding of banking with instructors that cover all aspects of banking. The second year students put this knowledge to work through the BankExec Simulation and a chance to run their own bank with fellow students.
First year students David Alderman, First Security State Bank, Waterloo and Brandon Long, Washington State Bank, Washington were elected by their peers to serve on the Iowa School of Banking Advisory Board. Second-year students, Cory Milbrandt, Randall-Story State Bank, Story City; Andy Ludeking, Farmers & Merchants Savings Bank, Waukon; and Shawn Lisk, MidWestOne Bank, Fairfield, all graduated in the top 10 percent of their class.
The 2008 Iowa School of Banking will be held June 8-13, 2008, in Cedar Rapids. For additional information, please contact the IBA’s Robbie Adelman at 800.532.1423.
FIRST YEAR STUDENTS
Cory Abels, Security Savings Bank, Clarion
David Alderman, First Security State Bank, Waterloo
Janet Alingh, Cherokee State Bank, Cherokee
Margaret Berns, Farmers & Merchants Savings Bank, Waukon
Tammy Blick, Walcott Trust & Savings Bank, Walcott
Mindy Burds, Fidelity Bank & Trust, Dyersville
Lawrence Conlon, Iowa State Bank, Ruthven
Greg Cuttell, Farmers Savings Bank, Fostoria
Cathy Ehnen, Farmers State Bank, Marion
Lisa Hockemeier, City State Bank, Ogden
Jon Jensen, Laurens State Bank, Laurens
Karla Johnson, Citizens State Bank, Postville
Tom Klaus, Farmers Savings Bank, Colesburg
Christine Klenz, Farmers & Traders Savings Bank, Bancroft
Michael Koch, Manufacturers Bank & Trust Co., Forest City
Brandon Long, Washington State Bank, Washington
Julie Modrell, American National Bank, Holstein
Heidi Nissen, Citizens State Bank, Sheldon
Heath Paulsen, First National Capital Markets, Omaha
Brenton Smith, John Hughes Scholarship Student, Coe College
Jennifer Steckelberg,John Hughes Scholarship Student, Buena Vista University
Susan Toftey, First Citizens National Bank, Clarion
Susan Weinschenk, Iowa State Bank & Trust, Iowa City
Adam Wood, Iowa State Bank, Des Moines
SECOND YEAR STUDENTS
Katrina Allen-Brickley, Decorah Bank & Trust, Decorah
Chase Anderson, Liberty National Bank, Sioux City
LuAnn Brandt, Manufacturers Bank & Trust Co., Crystal Lake
Shannon Brockway, First National Bank of West Union, West Union
Shawna Buckley, Community National Bank, Waterloo
Susan Daley, Walcott Trust & Savings Bank, Walcott
Lisa Diers, Community Savings Bank, Edgewood
Trey Else, American National Bank, Holstein
Emily Ford, Iowa State Savings Bank, Creston
Jason Greenwaldt, Farmers State Bank, Marion
Jeralyn Heath, Farmers State Bank, Marion
Brad Hemesath, First Security Bank & Trust Co., Charles City
James Klein, Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust, Cedar Rapids
Stacey Koberg, Walcott Trust & Savings Bank, Walcott
Shawn Lisk, MidWestOne Bank, Fairfield
Andrew Ludeking, Farmers & Merchants Savings Bank, Waukon
John McGarry, Maquoketa State Bank, Maquoketa
Joan McVay, Farmers State Bank, Marion
Donna Meier, Keystone Savings Bank, Marengo
Cory Milbrandt, Randall-Story State Bank, Story City
Dawn Muhlbauer, Decorah Bank & Trust, Decorah
Karri Murphy, Farmers State Bank, Hiawatha
Mike Phillips, Bankers Trust, Des Moines
Mikala Sanchez, Midstates Bank NA, Council Bluffs
Matt Schechinger, First State Bank, Lynnville
Pauline A. Shatek, Security State Bank, New Hampton
Amy Twigg, Quad City Bank & Trust, Davenport
Thais Winkleblack Priest, Iowa State Bank & Trust, Iowa City
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