Pub. 2 2013 Issue 2

16 l e a d i n g a d v o c a t e f o r t h e b a n k i n g i n d u s t r y i n k a n s a s A S A BANKER, you are an advo- cate for not only your institution but your com- munity. Your success is linked to the success of others. As your bank goes, so goes the community that you serve. It’s a powerful story that gets even stronger when you add your voice and your unique perspectives to those of your industry colleagues during ABA’s Government Relations Summit in Washington. This year’s meeting is April 15-17 and I want to encourage you to join us. Our Government Relations Summit is your opportunity to help educate Kansas’ lawmakers – and the regu- lators – about the vital role banks like yours play in the economy. Our Summit is about what you do – cre- ating jobs, growing businesses and revitalizing communities – and how legislative and regulatory policies are helping or hindering your efforts. With a new Congress in session, it’s also time to meet with new leadership and advocate for policy change to support the bank- ing industry. We’ve got a number of key priorities and issues that we will be targeting, including credit union taxation (with a spotlight shining on the national budget and federal revenues, is it finally time to be - gin discussing this issue?), Basel III implementation, and mortgage underwriting standards and housing reform. We will also be continuing to advocate for our examination relief bill, which garnered a significant number of House co-sponsors last year and will again this year. Reform of the Dodd-Frank Act will also be on the agenda. We have a strong lineup of speakers scheduled – including Wall Street Journal columnist and former speechwriter Peggy Noonan, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) and FDIC Chairman Marty Gruenberg – and more will be added in the coming weeks. This meeting is a critically important component of our advocacy efforts, and we want to continue to build bankers’ attendance and participation. Nothing makes more of an impression in Washington than boots on the ground and in the halls of Congress. Registration for the Summit is free. You can register online at aba. com or by calling us at 1-800-BANKERS. Last year, more than 1,100 bankers and directors – connected by our industry’s common cause – joined ABA and the state bankers associations in Washington for this important event, which has become the largest advocacy- focused meeting in banking. You can help us continue to visibly demonstrate the strength and conviction of our united industry April 15-17. I hope to see you then. Stand Up for Banking at ABA’s Government Relations Summit Frank Keating, President and CEO American Bankers Association This meeting is a critically impor- tant component of our advocacy efforts. Nothing makes more of an impression in Washington than boots on the ground and in the halls of Congress.