Pub. 7 2010-2013 Issue 3

September/October 2012 7 Extraordinary Service for Extraordinary Members. Politics Are Personal Clark Lehr , Chairman, Nebraska Bankers Association F ROM ATM PLACARDS, BASEL III, AND CREDIT UNION expansion to Dodd-Frank, qualified mortgages, and TAG—and everything in between—our industry cer- tainly has no shortage of legislative and regulatory issues to consider and implement. During the ABA Summer Meeting, someone remarked that the heated pace of regu- latory change was like drinking from a fire hose—trying to comply with all the new rules and regulations is overwhelm- ing and it can get messy! A total of 221 Dodd-Frank rulemaking requirement dead- lines have passed as of July 18, according to a report by the Davis Polk law firm. Of these 221 passed deadlines, 136 (61.5 percent) have beenmissedand85 (38.5percent) have beenmet with finalized rules. In addition, 123 (30.9 percent) of the 398 total required rulemakings have been finalized, while 141 (35.4 percent) rulemaking requirements have not yet beenproposed. When I look at numbers like these, it makes me realize that our regulators and our elected officials have a tough job. That’s why I’d like to spend a fewminutes visiting about what we can do to help. The last couple of years as NBA chairman-elect and nowNBA chairman, I have come to understandhow immersed our association is in the issues. I know that people like George Beattie, Bob Hallstrom, and Jerry Stilmock are working dili- gently with our congressional delegation, state legislators, and regulatory agencies on allmatters. We can count on theNBA to be there for us throughout theprocess, encouragingmeaningful changes to legislation and regulations. But it takes more than the NBA staff to work on this. It takes all of us! Bankers are theabsolutebest atworkingwithandsupporting their communities. At the NBA Annual Convention, I talked about how banks are fixtures in their communities and how in many cases it’s that relationshipwith the community that drives the success of both thebankand the town. Bankers are involved and engaged because they care. So nowwe need to funnel that engagement, that effort and success, intohelping our legislators and regulators find reasonable answers to the issues. Some call it “grassroots on steroids,” but it’s really about making our grassroots efforts personal—because just like banking, politics are personal and relationships do matter. 233 South 13th Street, Suite 700 Lincoln, NE 68508 Phone: (402) 474-1555 • Fax: (402) 474-2946 NBA Board of Directors NBA Editorial Staff George Beattie NBA President & CEO george.beattie@nebankers.org Joni Sundquist Vice President of Communications joni.sundquist@nebankers.org Clark D. Lehr NBA Chairman (2012-2013) (402) 563-3656 First Nebraska Bank, Columbus John P. Stinner NBA Chairman-Elect (2012-2013) (308) 436-2300 Valley Bank & Trust Co., Gering Steven L. Anderson (402) 845-6565 Bank of Doniphan, Doniphan Kelley Ayres (308) 832-2030 First Bank & Trust Co., Minden Bob Balfany (402) 434-1035 U.S. Bank, N.A., Lincoln Nicholas W. Baxter (402) 602-1839 First National Bank of Omaha, Omaha Cory A. Bergt (402) 434-4122 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Lincoln John E. Bothof (402) 334-0300 Northwest Bank, Omaha David P. Dannehl (308) 876-2451 First State Bank of Loomis, Loomis Alan L. Fosler (402) 323-1272 Union Bank & Trust Co., Lincoln Mark W. Hansen (402) 434-3462 West Gate Bank, Lincoln Stephen J. Hatz (402) 918-1567 Bank of the West, Omaha Michael J. Homa (402) 351-4248 Mutual of Omaha Bank, Omaha Douglas G. Johnson (402) 329-6221 Midwest Bank, N.A., Pierce Jeffrey C. Johnson (402) 562-2108 Columbus Bank & Trust Co., Columbus Timothy E. Keller (402) 375-2043 F&M Bank, Wayne John F. Kotouc (402) 399-5088 American National Bank, Omaha Clarence L. Landen III (402) 449-0919 Security National Bank of Omaha, Omaha Kevin J. Larson (402) 372-5147 CharterWest National Bank, West Point Garold G. Leggott (402) 363-6688 York State Bank, York Brian Lierman (402) 475-0521 Great Western Bank, Lincoln Barry J. Lockard (402) 434-2225 Cornhusker Bank, Lincoln Dudley C. Oltmans (308) 532-5936 Adams Bank & Trust, North Platte Kimberly A. Schroll (308) 534-2861 NebraskaLand National Bank, North Platte Ryne D. Seaman (402) 643-3636 The Cattle National Bank & Trust Co., Seward James H. Varney (877) 860-2266 Custer Federal Savings & Loan Assn., Broken Bow Kendell G. Holthus NBA Past Chairman (402) 363-7414 Cornerstone Bank, York Larry D. Marik NBA Past Chairman (402) 910-1387 First National Bank of Columbus, Columbus CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE  Politics — continued on page 8