Photo: Each year, Nebraska bankers visit Washington, D.C. for the NBA Washington Legislative Visit and the American Bankers Association Washington Summit. The trip is an opportunity for the Nebraska banking industry to make its collective voice heard by the Nebraska congressional delegation.

Forty-seven bankers from Nebraska who attended an American Bankers Association meeting in Kansas City in 1889 recognized the need for Nebraska banks to organize and speak collectively on important industry issues, particularly government relations, public policy and subsequent advocacy. The NBA was officially organized on January 22, 1890, by 265 bankers who attended the inaugural NBA Convention in Omaha. Now, nearly 134 years later, the need to speak collectively on important public policy, political and regulatory issues may be even more important than when the NBA forefathers met in Omaha in 1890.

While I appreciate history, I have not always acquired or appreciated the details as much as I should have. I recently had a chance to review some of the early banking history outlined in A History of Banking in Nebraska, a book authored as part of the NBA’s 100th anniversary. During the brief history lesson, I was quickly reminded of how history often repeats itself. For example, banks in the late 1850s issued private banknotes to be used as currency; today’s digital currencies seem to share many similar characteristics.

Likewise, the book describes the “antibank” men who voiced strong opposition to the creation of the state’s first bank charters. I would suggest facetiously that these “antibankers” were dressed as supporters of credit unions and the farm credit system. Similarly, the year the NBA was organized, Nebraska experienced a record drought and low market and crop prices. Lower crop prices led to substantial reductions in land costs but higher taxes. The public response to these early banking challenges was to further limit banking activity and impose early bank regulation. The exorbitant list of government-proposed rules and regulations confronting Nebraska banks during late 2023 reflects turbulent economic times much like those faced by Nebraska’s banking pioneers.

NBA members and staff are currently committing significant time and resources to confront a variety of these modern-day, ill-advised proposals, including (but not limited to):

1. Limiting interchange fees on both credit and debit card transactions at a time when banks are being required to invest even more resources to prevent fraud and protect consumers.
2. After almost six years of discussion, the release of new Community Reinvestment Act guidelines consisting of almost 1,500 pages of complex government regulation that adds to the regulatory burden.
3. Recently proposed guidance by the FDIC related to governance of banks with $10‑50 billion in assets. These proposals suggest new bank board governance, such as the requirement to have an outside director chair the bank board, among others. While the proposal does not currently impact many NBA members, we know all too well that these types of regulations routinely flow downhill to banks of all sizes and types.
4. A recent proposal by the U.S. Department of Labor to reclassify numerous industry frontline positions from exempt to nonexempt positions for purposes of overtime pay. This proposal treats employers the same regardless of geography.
5. Abusive expansion of Section 1071 of the Dodd‑Frank Act, which identifies the types of information bankers must collect from their business borrowers, including farmers.
6. In response to the bank failures of last spring, calls for increased capital requirements for banks of all sizes.

And the list goes on.

Nebraska banks have never shied away from taking important leadership roles in their communities, nor have we lost focus on helping our customers survive and thrive. Unfortunately, the current regulatory and economic climate is thrusting new and not always predictable arrows in our direction. To successfully confront these challenges, the NBA needs your collective support and input. I want to personally encourage you to stay informed, stay involved and share your collective voice!