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Aug. 19, 2022 |
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Women in Banking Conference Leaves Attendees Renewed and Energized We had another record crowd at last week’s Women in Banking Conference at Chateau Elan in Braselton, GA. Almost 125 women members from around the state gathered to benefit from educational sessions, roundtable discussions and networking time. The energy level was high throughout the two-day meeting, which featured a look at the national economic and political climate; a discussion about customer relationship management; an executive leadership panel discussion, which delved into “people-side-of-the-house” issues such as employee retention, career blueprinting, culture building, and more. There was also a hilarious look at work-life balance from Augusta’s VeryVera Stewart, Southern cooking show host, entrepreneur, caterer, cookbook author and mentor. The conference ended with an impactful and emotional talk from Laura Whitaker, CEO and co-founder of ESP (Extra Special People). Attendees enjoyed coffee from Java Joy, a mobile coffee cart operated by ESP’s “joyristas,” who were some of the extra special people who Laura shared stories about. Click here to see photos from the conference. A final shout-out to these associate members who supported the event through sponsorship: Gold Sponsors: McNair, McLemore, Middlebrooks & Co., Nelson Mullins, and Wipfli, and Silver Sponsors: Abram Armored; Carr, Riggs, Ingram, CPAs and Advisors; FHLBank Atlanta; Mauldin & Jenkins; Southern Bank Equipment & ATMs; Starfield & Smith, PC; Troutman Pepper; and Warren Averett CPAs & Advisors. Next year’s conference is slated for Aug. 10-11 at Chateau Elan, so mark your calendar now! Contact GBA’s Kathy Friestad with questions.
School Prep a Priority at Banking School Board Meeting The Georgia Banking School Board met this week in Forsyth to knuckle down on planning for the 2023 school session. Board members, who are peer bankers who volunteer to design the school experience, spent the day reviewing the curriculum for each of the three class groupings, setting faculty members, adding new courses and adjusting others based on student feedback. “It’s always fun for the board to meet and map out the next session of the school for our members. It energizes us as bankers and educators. We always tweak things so the course work is fresh and relevant to the most current industry conditions. Enrollment has been solid the past couple of years and we’re excited to keep that momentum going,” said Synovus Bank’s Darron Burnette, who is the chair of the Georgia Banking School Board. Invest in your career or the career of a key developing team member by registering. Registration will open soon and demand will be high for spots in the first-year class, so be ready to enroll as soon as possible. Get details about the school here.
Rankings, Call to Action, Business Sentiment and Political Analysis Our series of regular email updates to CEOs, committee members and other key leaders continued this week. Topics included:
If you’d like more information about any of those topics, contact Joe Brannen, 404.420.2026.
OCC-regulated bank members and bank accounting firms serving those members will want to take a look at updated information from the OCC this week. The latest update of the OCC’s Bank Accounting Advisory Series clarifies the application of accounting standards issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board on topics such as the amortization of premiums on debt securities with a call option over a preset period and lessors' classification of certain leases with variable lease payments. Access the info here.
Related: GBA’s Bank Accountant Conference is Sept. 25-27, along with the President and CEO and Bank Counsel conferences. Details here.
The IRS recently announced a new compliance program that will give plan sponsors an opportunity to correct mistakes in their retirement plan at a reduced cost and avoid a full IRS examination. If you receive one of these letters, the IRS opens a 90-day window giving you time to: 1) review plan documents and operations, 2) determine if you meet current tax law requirements and 3) self-correct any mistakes that qualify under the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS).
Your response to the IRS letter should show: 1) No mistakes were found, 2) Mistakes were found and self-corrected. (provide the details of the error and correction), or 3) Mistakes were found but do not qualify for self-correction. In this case you may request a closing agreement in which the cost could still be much less than if the IRS found the mistake during an exam.
Once a response is submitted to the IRS for review, they will either issue a closing letter or conduct a limited or full scope examination. The intention of the program is to reduce taxpayer burden and shorten the time spent on examinations. If you do not provide a response, you will be contacted to schedule an examination, so it’s always best to be proactive and take immediate action if you receive one of these letters.
For plans that are part of the GBA Master Trust, GBA Retirement Services and American Trust will always assist in providing the information for audit requests by the IRS, DOL, or FDIC. Please reach out to us if you receive one of these letters. We maintain all plan related records and can make this process much easier for you.
If you have any questions about this new program, or if you would like GBA Retirement Services to assist with your next plan review, please contact Mandy Richards at 404.420.2025 for more information.
Three Great Lending & Credit Related Programs Available We’ve got several opportunities coming up for some solid development for bank lenders and those looking to build a career in lending.
Customized for Georgia Law Opening New Accounts Documentation and Compliance Seminar - Sept. 13, Macon Managing risk is the #1 priority for all financial institutions, and it all starts at the new account desk. Join us Sept. 13 at Middle Georgia State University in Macon for the popular Opening New Accounts Documentation and Compliance Seminar with Suzie Jones of Training Resources Consulting. Join a growing group of you peers for this full-day in-person workshop, customized to Georgia state law. Jones teaches essential new account opening procedures, best practices, and compliance requirements. It answers complex questions asked by customers and staff while focusing on vital information for every new account type. Learn more and register here.
CRCM Credits Approved for Compliance Conference The American Bankers Association (ABA) Professional Certifications has approved the GBA 2022 Compliance Conference for 11.75 CRCM credits (APPROVED NON-ABA CE). So, chalk that up as added incentive to join your fellow Compliance professionals Oct. 19-21 for our annual Compliance Conference at The Westin Jekyll Island. Visit the conference website here for more details about all the sessions on the agenda, our hotel and to register. A big thank you to our confirmed conference sponsors. Platinum: Steve H. Powell & Company; Gold Sponsor: Ncontracts; Silver Sponsors: Carr, Riggs & Ingram, CPAs and Advisors, Mauldin & Jenkins, Warren Averett CPAs and Advisors and Wipfli. Sponsorships are still available. We also have a few slots left for exhibitors.
Register now! Interest Rate Risk Strategies in Focus for FRM Conference Coming up Member bankers with CFO and responsibilities and other key finance team members are invited the GBA Financial Risk Management Conference at The Westin Atlanta Perimeter North, Nov 3-4. We are finalizing the agenda but have confirmed the following sessions and speakers:
Get all the details and register here.
Employee Benefit Selections are Easy and Affordable with Holmes-Shaw The partnership between GBA and the Holmes-Shaw Agency was forged in 1965 when the agency began offering employee benefit solutions to community banks throughout Georgia. Recently, Holmes-Shaw, as a member of and through PointeNorth Insurance Group, LLC, has expanded its product offerings to include Property & Casualty products to all GBA Member Banks. Some of these products include:
Together, Holmes-Shaw through the GBA Insurance Trust, offers benefits to 130 Georgia banks and approximately 10,000 employee lives, helping the Georgia banking community protect one of its most important assets, its employees. With questions or to learn more about how Holmes-Shaw can help your company enhance its benefit program, please contact Bruce Shaw at bshaw@holmes-shaw.com, or 770.642.2150.
Cybersecurity Focused Content The Information Security Officer (ISO) Seminar - Oct. 4, Macon Josh Dasher and Emily Strickland, senior compliance specialists for Safe Systems, will explore exam expectations and how the pandemic changed the ISO function in the Information Security Officer 101 Seminar: The "Why" and "How" of this Critical Position, set for Oct. 4 at Middle Georgia State University in Macon. They will cover the key responsibilities of an ISO and the ISO’s role in interacting with stakeholders. This seminar is designed for new and experienced ISO’s, but compliance officers, audit committee members, IT Steering Committee members and network administrators will benefit as well from attending this seminar. Get all the details and register here.
IRA Advanced Update & Review Virtual Seminar - Oct. 13, Zoom Webinar Format In the past two years, banks have probably fielded a lot of questions from customers regarding the many IRA changes and, most specifically, about how they affect beneficiary payouts. In addition, there were 275 pages of new “proposed” regulations expected to take effect for 2022 beneficiary distributions that were released in February. These new rules change beneficiary payout options – again – to almost a hybrid form of pre-2020 rules and beginning in 2020 rules. Bank teams must know these new rules or else beneficiaries may be skipping annual death distributions when they should actually be taking them. In this informational session, Patrice Konarik of Sunwest Training Corp. will detail the SECURE Act 1.0 and 2.0 changes and other enacted rules in reference to future planning for clients. Each paid participant will receive a newly updated 280-page IRA Training and Reference Manual. Click here to register.
Longtime GBA partner, Office Depot, recently rebranded as ODP Business Solutions and, with this transition, it is a good time to remind GBA members to enroll in our National Purchasing Program. It is an easy process!
Click here for a complete overview of our Purchasing Program. With questions, please contact Kimberly Gilbert at kimberly.gilbert@officedepot.com, or 855.337.6811, ext. 12815.
Save the Date – Oct. 13 Registration Open for South Georgia Community Bank Symposium It’s time to register for the South Georgia Community Bank Symposium. Register here. The event, co-hosted by GBA and Valdosta State University’s Harley Langdale Jr. College of Business Administration, will be Oct. 13, from 10 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. at the Valdosta State University Student Union building. We’re firming up the agenda, but already confirmed as guests are Melissa Sneed from the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance for a supervisory update and Jonathan Hightower of Fenimore Kay Harrison to talk strategy. We’ll also have key representatives from Valdosta State on the program for their insights on economic and business conditions as well as ways for bankers to connect with the university and students. With questions, contact David Oliver, 404.420.2036.
Reg. E Best Practices, Credit Analysis, Check Fraud Checkup and More Here’s a sampling of upcoming webinars.
See the full slate of upcoming webinars here.
GBA Strategic Partner BankTalentHQ The central feature of BankTalentHQ is its national bank-job board. Other key benefits include: resume search access, regional and national reach for your open positions, frequent special offers and custom sales/coaching programs. Visit BankTalentHQ to learn more. See the open positions in Georgia here, or search regionally or nationally here.
GBA Job Bank GBA will post open positions, free of charge, for GBA members. See the open positions in Georgia here. We will also post professional summaries for bank-job seekers on our Bankers Available page. To make the process easy and answer any questions, we've developed this Q&A. Please contact Katina Prokos, 404.420.2021.
GBA’s Career Paths for Bankers™ GBA’s Career Paths for Bankers™ is the most unique, organized and easy-to-use career development resource available for bankers and banks. GBA’s pioneering career development resource is unlike any other in the banking industry. Click here to start mapping your banking career today.
Why Do People Choose Careers in Banking? Whatever their talents, interests and educational background, there is a career in banking for them. Here are few good reasons to share with folks you know.
We want to share all the good work GBA member banks, bankers, Associate Members and Bank Counsel Section members do to support their communities. Read all about the Community Connections our banks and members have below. Share your Community Connections by sending a brief paragraph and any photos of activities you have to us and we'll publish them at our earliest opportunity. Send information to Katina Prokos and David Oliver, or if your company would like to sponsor this content, let us know. Here's our latest installment:
Augusta - Queensborough National Bank and Trust Co. Jeff Dorn has recently been promoted to lead the bank’s residential construction lending department for the Augusta market. Read more here.
Fitzgerald - Colony Bank Christian Ruppe has joined the bank as chief innovation officer, senior vice president. Read more here.
Greenville - United Community Bank George Bell has been appointed to the board of directors of United Community Banks, Inc. Bell is an experienced information technology professional and has more than 25 years of experience in financial services, previously working for Truist, BB&T, and Bank of America. He most recently served as executive vice president - Software Engineering Group head and business management manager at Truist.
Louisville - Queensborough National Bank and Trust Co. Chief Operations Officer Kim Kirk was recently featured in American Banker discussing smaller core alternatives. Read the article here (subscription required).
Bloomington, MN - United Bankers’ Bank Alan McLean has joined United Bankers’ Bank as senior vice president, operations director. Read more here.
Read All About It: Send Us Your News Please remember to include the Georgia Bankers Association on the list of recipients for announcements about promotions, new employees and special recognition your bank has received. We want to share your news with your colleagues across the state. Please forward your announcements and photos to GBA's Katina Prokos. |
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