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Lincoln, Neb., Feb. 22, 2008 -- John Munn, Director of the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance, has been elected chair of the State Liaison Committee of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) and will serve as a voting member of the Council. The Council was established by Congress in 1979 to create a formal interagency body empowered to prescribe uniform principles, standards, and report forms for the federal examination of financial institutions.
The six-member council is comprised of the Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, a Governor of the Federal Reserve System appointed by the Chairman of the Board of Governors, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Chairman of the Board of the National Credit Union Administration and, since 2006, a representative state financial regulator. Munn will follow Steve Antonakes, Massachusetts Banking Commissioner, as the Council’s state financial regulator.
The FFIEC meets quarterly to review the work of interagency task forces in the areas of
consumer compliance, examiner education, information sharing, regulatory reports, supervision and surveillance systems. The FFIEC also facilitates public access to Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and financial institution performance data. Since 1989, the Council has had oversight of the Appraisal Subcommittee, formed to monitor appraisal practices for federally related transactions.
Munn’s service on the FFIEC will begin March 27. He credits the Conference of State Bank Supervisors for this opportunity, noting that, “The strength of the state banking system in Nebraska and the breadth of the financial services we supervise were factors in my selection.” In addition to helping to promote uniformity in financial institution supervision, Munn looks forward to representing all state regulators as mortgage supervision issues are addressed by Congress and the Council.
Munn was appointed as NDBF Director in 2005 by Governor Mike Johanns and continues as Director in the administration of Governor Dave Heineman. At the time of his appointment, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of First National Bank and Trust in Syracuse. In addition to his service in Syracuse, his 29-year career in Nebraska banking included service at The Cattle National Bank of Seward, National Bank of Commerce, Lincoln, and Cornerstone Bank, York.
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The Nebraska Independent Community Bankers (NICB) announces a Associate of Applied Science Degree in Rural Agribanking is available at Northeast Community College, Norfolk, Nebraska.
This program was developed in cooperation of member banks of the NICB due to the need of bank educated personnel into community banks in the management level positions in the area of lending. If you are looking for a career in banking and want to live in a rural community this program is a great start.
The two year program will begin in the Fall 2007. Many of the courses will be available on-line. Contact Northeast Community College Business Dept at 402-844-7292 for details or visit their website at www.Northeastcollege.com.
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Every April Community Banks across the country take center stage to thank their customers, and raise the awareness of community banks.
We provide for you a list of Advantages of banking with a true Community Bank
- Community banks focus attention on the needs of local families, businesses, and farmers. Conversely, many of the nation’s megabanks are structured to place a priority on serving large corporations.
- Unlike many larger banks that may take deposits in one state and lend in others, community banks channel most of their loans to the neighborhoods where their depositors live and work, helping to keep local communities vibrant and growing.
- Community bank officers are generally accessible to their customers on site. CEOs at megabanks are often headquartered in office suites, away from daily customer dealings.
- Community bank officers are typically deeply involved in local community affairs, while large bank officers are likely to be detached physically and emotionally from the communities where their branches are located.
- Many community banks are willing to consider character, family history and discretionary spending in making loans. Megabanks, on the other hand, often apply impersonal qualification criteria, such as credit scoring, to all loan decisions without regard to individual circumstances.
- Community banks offer nimble decision-making on business loans, because decisions are made locally. Megabanks must often convene loan approval committees in another state.
- Because community banks are themselves small businesses, they understand the needs of small business owners. Their core concern is lending to small businesses and farms. The core concern of the megabank is corporate America.
To find a true Community Bank in your area go to our Find A Community Bank tab located on our Home page.
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Survey: Nearly 80 Percent of Community Banks Want to Finance Ethanol & Alternative Fuels Projects
Washington, D.C. (March 7, 2007) - The Independent Community Bankers (ICBA) told Congress that community banks are actively involved in financing ethanol and other alternative fuels projects. Community banks, both individually and through alliances with other community banks, actively finance alternative fuels projects and farmers investments in these projects. ICBA urged lawmakers to ensure community banks can continue their involvement in financing alternative fuels and encouraged more research dollars for development of alternative fuels, particularly cellulosic ethanol.
"Our nation's community banks play an integral part in the economic well-being of the communities they serve," said Dave Reyher, president of Colorado East Bank and Trust, Lamar, Colo., testifying before a House Agriculture Committee panel on behalf of ICBA. "They are the backbone for economic development in their communities. Financing alternative fuels projects provides much needed jobs, promotes economic diversification in agricultural-based areas and reduces our nation’s reliance on foreign oil. For these reasons, community banks are actively involved in bringing renewable fuel facilities to their local communities through loans and working capital for plants and facilities and loans to finance farmer investments in renewable fuel companies," added Reyher.
Investment financed by community banks help bring renewable fuel facilities to communities and support local ownership and control of these facilities. Through these investments farmers reap the rewards of value-added agricultural endeavors. ICBA has endorsed the 25 x '25 Alliance, which promotes the goal of producing 25 percent of the nation's energy from domestic renewable sources by 2025.
Reyher told the subcommittee that community banks have formed a variety of alliances that allow them to finance ethanol projects even though the cost of these projects is often enormous and often exceeds the lending limits of individual community banks. Examples of such alliances include working with underwriting, originator and placement agents to community banks, working with other community banks through informal networks, and working with bankers’ banks or larger correspondent banks. These loan participation mechanisms allow individual banks to each share in a portion of the financing and diversify risks to bring these projects to life in local communities.
Reyher told Congress that nearly 80 percent of a random sample of community bankers who responded to an ICBA survey already finance renewable fuel projects or are considering it.
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