Pub. 7 2019 Issue 2

Issue 2. 2019 5 Chairman’s Fairwell A s a member of the Utah Bankers Association (UBA) for the past thirty-four years, it has been a pleasure to serve as its chairman in 2018 and 2019. The UBA represents the voice and interests of all types of banks in our wonderful state. The beauty of our association is that banks with di- verse interests and customer bases can come together often and strong. We all have a common goal of customer advo- cacy and transparency of financial actions. This vision has lead the UBA to several compelling initiatives during the past year. Public Policy Environment The appointed leaders at most bank regulatory agencies have been replaced in the past two years. I am happy to note that these appointees have made significant progress in reforming the oversight at banks. It has become encouraging again to have a di- alogue at the agencies instead of just the rhetoric received in prior years. The ability to make significant headway toward regulatory relief is still a ways off, but headed in a much better direction. The future in Congress is more clouded by the current envi- ronment with mixed control. The efforts to establish a rapport and respect for banking with our new representatives (McAd- ams, Romney) has been compelling and interesting. The solid support by most of the rest of our Congressional delegation is something that is admired by many other states. I’m currently serving on the American Bankers Association (ABA) Commu- nity Bank Council and associated with over 100 CEO’s from across the country. Utah has a great reputation within that group due to the past and current banking leaders that have served in leadership roles at the ABA and Howard Headlee with the state association group. Advocacy Efforts Several specific efforts to give input on future regulatory oversight have been of great interest to the entire UBA. The cannabis banking struggles of other states came to the forefront after this winter’s Utah legislature action. Efforts to solve the banking dilemma of a legal process in Utah versus an illegal federal activity is just the type of dilemma that can be solved and that the UBA excels in. The Office of the Controller of the Currency has proposed Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) reform recently. This is an area that has huge implications for almost all UBA member banks. The CRA committee of the UBA is an impressive group of individuals that understand the issues of new regulatory over- sight. Meaningful enhancements and lobbying by this group continues to assist the effort to craft reasonable outcomes for this mandate. Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) requirements implemented a year ago to identify beneficial ownership has increased the burden for banks to better know their customer. This change has elicited many positive ways by banks to more efficiently comply with the requirements. A national database has been proposed and is generally backed by all UBA members. Additional efforts and support will be committed to this advocacy effort in the coming years. Core Banking Technology Advancement The advancements in fintech continue to accelerate in banking. In recent years speeding up and enhancing the payment process has become paramount. This year a significant advancement in real time payment possibilities and the related “true” real time person-to-person transfers hit center stage. The effort at UBA has been to keep all members abreast of the latest developments in the real time payments space. Each UBA member will ad- dress the best approach in this critical part of the core function of a bank. There is an effort underway at ABA to improve relationships with core banking software processors. During the year, ABA made a strategic investment in a new core processor – Finx- act. This marks a new way UBA members can benefit from the national pressure being exerted on the existing major core banking software processors. These core processors must keep their products updated and negotiate reasonably with the banking industry. Importance of Emerging Leaders The success of banking has always relied on development of future leaders to understand and implement proper direction at their banks. The UBA embarked on enhancing future leader- ship potential through its emerging leaders program introduced several years ago. This year many emerging leaders have been present at advocacy events and within leadership sessions. The vision and perspective of these individuals is impressive. Such efforts and opportunities must continually evolve to meet the future challenges in banking. This year an initiative to understand the breath of what bankers do and the depth of knowledge required was embarked at the UBA. Surveys and interviews have been conducted and a plan formulated to assist banks to attract and retain the diverse talent needed in today’s environment. I would like to thank all bankers that have served on UBA committees or attended UBA events in the past year. It is a won- derful sight to see a group of bankers gathered for a common purpose. There is truly strength in numbers and I’m grateful for the associations I have enjoyed throughout my career. All of this activity would not be possible without the dedicated staff at UBA. Howard Headlee leads us in the right direction, and Becky Wilkes and the rest of the staff have transitioned nicely after the retirement of Wendy Holloway at the end of 2018. Let’s continue the positive potential for Utah banks as we con- tinue to work together! n