Independent Banker - May 2019 - 7

FROM THE TOP
" One friend who fights
like hell is better than
10 who just talk. "
Preston Kennedy
Chairman, ICBA
Preston Kennedy is president and CEO of
Zachary Bancshares Inc. in Zachary, La.
I said before this year's ICBA Capital Summit
that one friend who fi ghts like hell is better than
10 who just talk. While community bankers have
had considerable success in recent years advancing
pro-community bank policies, such as the
S.2155 regulatory relief law, we have plenty left
on our advocacy to-do list.
It includes overhauling Bank Secrecy Act
requirements, improving the exam process, rolling
back the taxpayer-sponsored advantages of
credit unions and the Farm Credit System, promoting
equally strong data-security safeguards
for other entities, preserving open access to the
secondary mortgage market, and more. Just look
at ICBA's Community Focus 2020 platform. It's
a legislative and regulatory agenda designed to
promote greater economic opportunity in local
communities through a more effi cient system of
regulation, unbiased laws governing the fi nancial
sector, a safer and more secure business environment,
and more eff ective agriculture policies.
Community bankers maintain an ambitious
policy agenda. It's a tall order that no single act
of Congress or the president can deliver. To get it
done, we need fi ghters, not merely talkers.
Fortunately, the community bankers who show
up at the Capital Summit are fi ghters. I know this
year's event-which will be taking place right as
this column reaches your desk-will prove no
My Top
Three
Here are my top
fighters (not
talkers) on the
big screen:
1. The Man with
No Name (Clint
Eastwood), A
Fistful of Dollars
2. Will Kane (Gary
Cooper), High
Noon
3. Mongo (Alex
Karras), Blazing
Saddles
Connect with Pres @BankPres
diff erent. The crowd of community bankers who
make the trip to Washington and hoof it around
Capitol Hill to meet face-to-face with their members
of Congress are no shrinking violets. They
come to fi ght the good fi ght!
Now, don't get me wrong; the trip is plenty
of fun. This year, we're hearing from speakers
including FDIC chairman Jelena McWilliams
and Senate Banking Committee chairman Mike
Crapo (R-Idaho), who led the way on S.2155. And
to be honest, the conversation with my brothers
and sisters in arms is pretty good, too. But grassroots
advocacy like this is the nuts and bolts of
how we accomplish our policy goals. It's why
we've achieved the " qualifi ed mortgage " relief,
Home Mortgage Disclosure Act improvements,
the 18-month exam cycle, the Volcker Rule
exemption and so on.
All of that took community bankers banding
together, rolling up our sleeves and doing the hard
work of constant, diligent advocacy. It took a fi ght.
So thank you, fellow community bankers, for
your eff orts. As we carry on the push for additional
policy gains, I'll have your back-and I
know you'll have mine.
independentbanker.org Q 7
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Independent Banker - May 2019

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