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Current Events - 03/10/2003

Financial privacy and SB 1

The fight for a reasonable and workable approach to financial privacy continues, as
SB 1 makes its way through legislative committees. The bill was cleared several initial committees and is now headed for the Senate Floor. The bill is expected to pass on the Senate Floor, where it will head through Assembly committees and, if passed through those committees, the Assembly Floor. CBA has mailed a comprehensive position letter to members of the Legislature (please see attachment) to inform them of CBA's opposition to the bill. This letter also serves as an excellent update for our membership on the Association's position on the bill, carefully spelling out the reasons for our opposition. In addition, CBA has its Issue Brief and Talking Points on the subject available on the Government Relations part of its Web site (www.calbankers.com) and are also available on the electronic version of this Monday Courier.

US Banking 2003

US Banking 2003 is a conference and exhibition for the US banking and financial services industry that is being held entirely online. CBA is a proud sponsor of this unique opportunity. If you go to www.usbanking-2003.com you can view over 75 presentations on topics ranging from CRM to Internet Banking between March 3rd and 14th. The event is absolutely free, so please register. By registering you will be entered into a drawing to win a new Handspring TREO 270 at the close of the conference.

16th Annual Lenders Conference
March 23-26, 2003
Marriott's Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa
Rancho Mirage, California

CBA continues to play a vital role in connecting its members to industry experts. The 16th Annual Lenders Conference, held this year from March 23-26, 2003 at the Marriott's Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa, serves as one such resource for our members. At this conference, bankers will discuss many of the topics they are dealing with including; the economy, staffing needs and motivation, marketing opportunities and bank leadership. For more information on this year's 16th Annual Lenders Conference, please review the enclosed brochure.

CBA McCallum Award

The California Bankers Association's Legal Affairs Committee is proud to announce that Ullar Vitsut, who passed away suddenly last year, will be honored this year with the Almon McCallum Award. The McCallum Award recognizes in-house bank attorneys for their distinguished and meritorious legal service to the California banking industry.
Born in Estonia, Ullar Vitsut earned his B.S. in Finance and his J.D. at UCLA. For most of his 39-year career at Bank of America, Ullar served as Group Manager of Litigation for Southern California and the Southern States. A prominent litigator, Ullar is credited with successful results in complex and demanding litigation, benefiting not only Bank of America but the banking community at large. Ullar served on the Business Law Section of the California State Bar; the Executive Committee of the Corporate Law Departments Section, the Committee on Branch and Bar Relations and the Litigation Section of the Los Angeles County Bar; the Association of Business Trial Lawyers, and the California Bankers Clearinghouse Association. Most important, however, Ullar was a respected mentor to his Associates at Bank of America, and to many in the legal community who were fortunate enough to cross paths with this gifted leader and caring gentleman.

The award will be presented during the CBA Bank Counsel Seminar at the Four Seasons Hotel in Newport Beach on April 10, and will be accepted by Ullar's widow, Sirje Vitsut.
50th Annual Bankers Conference a rousing success

More than 140 bankers participated in this year's Bankers Legislative Conference, held March 4-5 in Sacramento. Highlighting this year's event was an address by Governor Gray Davis at the Regions Dinner, where he addressed his concerns over California's budget situation and the role that business can play in the state's economic recovery.

Also noteworthy were the remarks made by the event's many panelists, including Allan Zaremberg, president and CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce; Senator
Debra Bowen who discussed the issue of identity theft; Assemblymember John Campbell and Senator Jim Battin who discussed various statewide budget proposals; Tom Philp, Associate Editor of the Sacramento Bee who provided insight on the war over California's water sources; and Senator Dean Florez, Chair of the Senate Banking Committee, who discussed where his committee is on several key issues concerning the banking industry.

Photos of the event are currently being loaded on the CBA Web site (www.calbankers.com) and more information on the Bankers Legislative Conference will be forthcoming in subsequent issues of the Monday Courier. Our thanks to all of our bankers who participated and made this such a memorable event.

Grassroots Update

The following meetings have been scheduled between CBA members and their elected officials. If you would like more information on these meetings, or would like to participate in any of the meetings, please contact Mary Boruff at (916) 441-7377, ext. 207. If you are not available, please consider sending an officer from your bank.

You are welcome to phone in to a grassroots conference call (1-888-903-2663) every Thursday afternoon (4:00 pm - State Legislature / 4:30 pm - House of Representatives) prior to a scheduled district office meeting(s) to discuss CBA's priority issues and to answer any questions you may have regarding meeting with your legislator.

* Freshman legislator
** Meeting rescheduled - new time
*** Meeting rescheduled - new date/time