Pub. 11 2016-2017 Issue 5

January/February 2017 Extraordinary Service for Extraordinary Members. 1125 South 103rd Street Omaha, NE 68124 koleyjessen .com COMMERCIAL LOANS - TIF/BOND FINANCING DIP FINANCING - BANKRUPTCY/CREDITORS’ RIGHTS BANK ACQUISITIONS/DIVESTITURES REGULATORY COMPLIANCE - GENERAL CORPORATE Email Rob Nichols at nichols@aba.com . ©American Bankers Association. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. bankers discussed the value of advocating not just much- needed changes like mortgage lending regulatory relief and simpler capital rules, but also policy solutions that are less parochial in nature and help the economy grow. These include ways to help those with heavy student debt, urban housing solutions, and a stronger Small Business Administration. The council and boardmembers agreed it made sense to embrace such big-picture issues given the role bankers play as com- munity leaders and economic stewards. It’s even more important that the policy positions we advocate are positive and forward-looking, and tell the story of what banks are for, not what we are against. We are for economic growth. We are for job creation. We are for prosper- ity for our communities. Such optimism drives our industry, and it’s what should drive our advocacy, too. It’s far more compelling than an anti-this, anti-that platform. So how can we best take advantage of the more favorable legislative and regulatory climate to ensure our “Blueprint for Growth,” as we are referring to our policy priorities, is advanced? The single most important way is for you and bankers like you to actively engage at the grassroots level. That means working closely with your state bankers association to ensure your state’s lawmakers—whether they are newly elected freshmen or seasoned politicos—are hearing from you and your colleagues early and often. It also means showing up in force at this year’s ABA Government Relations Summit, March 20-22 inWashington. This event is the largest industry meeting in our nation’s capital, with around 1,000 bankers with a range of titles and responsibilities attending each year. Given all that is at stake this year, I hope we will double that number. This sim- ply must be our largest and best-attended Summit ever. To that end, if you’ve attended the Summit before, please come again and bring a colleague. And if you’ve never attended the Summit, make this your year to start. (Find out more at aba. com/Summit.) The 2016 election was a game-changer in many ways, but there’s one thing that remains the same: It will take the help of bankers from the C-suite to the tellers on the frontlines to move the ball down the field and score meaningful legislative victories. 