Pub. 4 2015 Issue 7

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 6 KBA LEADERS LEDGER “I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!” By KBA Chairman Robert Leftwich T HAT’S THE FIRST and best defense every toddler learns. If you don’t do anything, you don’t get in trouble. Somewhere along the way, it flips. “I didn’t do anything when I had the chance becomes a regret.” The lost opportunity, wouldn’t it be great if we knew what our regrets were when we still had time to do something about them? (from the blog of Seth Godin) We, Bankers, have the opportunity to do something. Our country has entered the 2016 election cycle. This is the time to rally our efforts and do something about the one size fits all regulatory boondoggle we are in. All of us have real life scenarios of how our customers have been negatively impacted by the plethora of rules, interpretations and regulations that have been raining down upon us the last few years. I am asking each bank to write up your scenario of regulatory impact. How have the new rules affected your ability to make loans? How are you serving your customer base now versus pre CFPB? We, community banks, know our customer base; we can still make and collect loans to customers who do not fit in the lending matrix designed by the rules of the CFPB. If we share our bank’s story of actual customer interaction, we may show Congress the impact on our customers who more importantly - are their VOTERS. Voter impact is the key to obtaining regulatory relief. When Congress understands that the consequences of their decisions and the CFPB interpretations negatively impact voters we may have a chance at relief. Everyday customers (Voters) who are trying to buy a house, buy a farm, repair their home are all impacted. For the self-employed showing “Ability to Repay” can be difficult, especially with proper tax planning that results in shifting income between tax years or using accelerated depreciation to minimize income. Community bankers keep these loans in our portfolio, so why should we be required to follow another set of underwriting rules from a third party to make our credit decision? A recent ABA story reflected an Oklahoma bank whose customer, a well-qualified physician, who wished to purchase a home; however he had recently purchased a medical practice and was now self-employed. He did not fit the narrowly defined box of mortgage rules related to ATR, and therefore, the bank had to deny the loan to this creditworthy borrower (VOTER). Another Kansas banker told me about an elderly lady who needed to replace the air-conditioning in her home earlier this summer. Her loan request again does not fit in the CFPB box as she lives on fixed income. Adding a monthly payment on $7,000 would cause her ATR ratio to be in violation. So what does the community banker do – he makes her the loan unsecured. That is community banking at its best – serving the public. We have a unique opportunity in this election cycle; an opportunity to catch the ear of our members of Congress by showing how their laws and the resulting interpretations directly impact voters. Let’s have no regrets! Let’s do something! This is a team project and if we work as a team our sheer numbers will help to deliver our message of: One size does not fit all! I DID do something! Send stories to: Chairman Bob Leftwich Care of KBA P.O. Box 4407 Topeka, KS 66604