Pub. 4 2014 Issue 2

4 www.azbankers.org An Active 2014 By PAUL HICKMAN , President & CEO A MESSAGE FROM THE PRES I DENT P H OENIX - AS WE HEAD OUT OF WINTER AND INTO SPRING AND SUMMER THERE IS A LOT TO REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE AzBA. We began the year by co-hosting a luncheon with the President of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, Dr. John Williams, P. 8. Several days later senior brass from the Consumer Financial Protec- tion Bureau were in town from Washington, D.C. and provided our bankers with a briefing on the implementation of the new mortgage lending rules. We had another very successful Banker Day at the Capitol in February. See photos pp. 14-16. We began with a meeting of regional bank supervisors in from San Francisco and Denver. We then met with the Governor and several state legislators, followed by our annual banker day reception and dinner. Our keynote speaker this year was the president of the American Bankers Association, former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating. Also in February we co-hosted an all-day economic summit with the Philadelphia Federal Re- serve Bank’s Global Interdependence Center, P. 12. Phoenix was chosen as the site of this international conference due to its location on the Canamex Corridor. The conference highlighted the economic benefits derived from the North American Free Trade Agreement and coincided with its twentieth anniversary. At the end of March several AzBA member bankers and I again traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in the American Bankers Associa- tion’s Government Relations Summit and lobby our congressional delegation. We heard from, among others, House Majority leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), House Financial Services Committee Member, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.VA ), and U.S. Sena- tor Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.). From the Arizona delegation we met with U.S. Senator Jeff Flake, and Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-1), Ron Barber (D-2), Paul Gosar (R-4), Matt Salmon (R-5) and David Schweikert (R-6). We will be returning to Washington in the fall for more Member meetings in addition to meetings with agency officials at the policy-making level. So far we have meetings scheduled with officials at the Department of Treasury, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the FDIC. As always we will have a full schedule of meetings with members of our congressional delegation on the Hill as well. Bankers who have attended the fall trip in the past have found it to be one of the most rewarding and memorable experiences of their careers. I believe all bankers should do this at least once. The trip is scheduled for September 30 through October 2, 2014. Please let me know right away if you would like to participate. Please mark your calendars for the 111th Annual AzBA Convention & Meeting at the Enchantment Resort in Sedona, Arizona, June 8-10, 2014, P. 11. We are returning to Sedona this year with a fabu- lous line-up of economists, government relations professionals, and banking policy experts. We will once again begin with our annual Bankers’ Cup golf tournament at the incomparable Seven Can- yons Golf Club. Our presenters will cover topics ranging from the state/regional and national economies; issues presented by the more frequent occurrences of systems hacking and data breach; state and national legislative and political reports; medical marijuana’s impact on how we implement labor laws as well as whether and how we approach banking these businesses and their derivative businesses; to a discussion of broader business issues by two of the leading candidates to replace Governor Brewer next year. More than anything this meeting offers an opportunity to re-connect with your banking col- leagues and have fun. Sedona is one of those places we need an excuse to visit and when we get there we always wonder why it has taken so long to come back.