Pub. 11 2016-2017 Issue 2

www.nebankers.org 8 Extraordinary Service for Extraordinary Members. Washington Update THE BEST DEFENSE IS A GOOD OFFENSE Rob Nichols, President & CEO, American Bankers Association experience access BKD National Financial Services Group On site = insight. When you work with BKD National Financial Services Group, expect attention from partners and managers you’ll see and hear from regularly. BKD’s partner- to-staff ratio is lower than the average found in other national firms. We take a genuine interest in your financial institution, and we express it by being available, reliable, engaged and proactive. Experience how our insights can help take your organization to the next level. PARTNER TO STAFF 1:5 Lincoln // 402.473.7600 Omaha // 402.392.1040 bkd.com S INCE TAKING THE HELM OF ABA on Jan. 1, my priority has been meeting with and listening to bankers and state associa- tion executives about what’s needed to help banks succeed. I’ve logged tens of thousands of miles in service to that goal and by late June had visited with nearly 3,500 industry leaders at various state conventions and meetings. The feedback I have received has been invaluable, and it has driven ABA activities in recent months. For example, you have told me in no uncertain terms that the industry needs to take our ad- vocacy game to a new level to counter an increasingly organized, antagonistic, and aggressive anti-bank lobby. I would have thought that the stri- dency with which the public policy sector treats our industry would have lessened by now, six years after Dodd- Frank and eight years post-crisis. But in fact it has increased. This is a problem. Bank-bashing—including that which comes from within the industry—dam-