Pub. 10 2015-2016 Issue 1

May/June 2015 11 Extraordinary Service for Extraordinary Members. During this event, plans for a Nebraska-based banking as- sociation were hatched, with a focus on addressing both regulatory and legislative issues at the state level. My how history has a funny way of repeating itself! At the time the NBA was created, there were 648 banks in the state, 135 na- tional charters and 513 state charters. Guy Doane served as the first secretary of the new banking association in January 1890. In 1915, there were 969 banks in the state. That number had dropped to 457 by 1980. Today, there are 210 banks and savings institutions in the state. The banking industry and your association have seen their fair share of ups and downs throughout the past 125 years. During the Great Depression, for example, there were 597 banks failures in the state. At the NBA Annual Conven- tion in 1938, NBA-member banks expressed their concerns about the growing role of Postal Savings and the Production Credit Association, both non-bank competitors. Today’s competitors include the Farm Credit System and federally chartered credit unions, which both benefit from significant tax-preferred status. To better meet the needs of your association, the NBA in 1974 formed the Voluntary Employees Beneficiary Associa- tion (VEBA) to offer affordable health insurance coverage to member institutions. The Nebraska Bankers Insurance & Services Co. (NBISCO) was subsequently started in 1981 to offer additional products and services to Nebraska banks. With a focus on the future, the NBA Leadership Program was initiated in 1996. An infusion of $1.2 million in capital helped foster the creation of the Nebraska Electronic Transfer System (NETS) in Omaha in 1975. Like the NBA, NETS is celebrating an im- portant milestone in 2015: 40 years of providing the backbone for transacting electronic payments across Nebraska, and now around the world! While the banking industry and the NBA continue to evolve, there are four fundamental guiding principles that are just as important today as they were for our forefathers in 1889. • The banking industry is stronger when it speaks with one, clear voice; the NBA continues to serve in this role much like it has for more than a century. • Secondly, a dire need remains to confront an evolving regu- latory and legislative environment. Our NBA government relations staff, with three registered lobbyists, remains a well-respected voice with the regulatory community and with our state and federal elected officials. Likewise, thanks to the generosity of our members, the NBA administers one of the largest business-focused political action committees in the state. During the most recently completed fiscal year, NBA BankPAC raisedmore than $134,000 to support state and federal candidates for office. • Third, as the rate of change within the banking industry  President’s Message — continued from page 7 Reach Richard Baier at (402) 474-1555 or richard.baier@nebankers.org . continues to escalate, the need for high-quality training and education remains a cornerstone of the NBA’s strategic plan. Last year, for example, more than 4,000 bankers actively participated in NBA educational programming. • Finally, banks can continue to leverage their buying power by jointly purchasing products and services they use on a daily basis. Today, there are 180 Nebraska banks and more than 10,500 participants in the VEBA insurance program while NBISCO offers 18 endorsed vendors. Last year, NBISCO/VEBA contributed more than $476,000 in direct and indirect financial support to your association. Undoubtedly, the banking industry will face new chal- lenges in the months, years, and decades to come. Your NBA is committed to assuring the continued success of the banking sector and to providing Extraordinary Service for Extraordi- nary Members, as our mission statement says. In honor of the NBA’s 125th anniversary, the NBA com- munications staff has created a very well-done interactive timeline featuring historical events that helped shape bank- ing and the NBA. I encourage you to visit the NBA website at www.nebankers.org/index.php/about-nba.html and spend a fewminutes reminiscing about these important events in our industry’s history.  We know community banking. Regulatory Representation Mergers and Acquisitions Business Succession Planning Litigation eptlawfirm.com toll free 844-704-5296